Young Lions captain Thomas Rew鈥檚 memorable winter could be about to get even better when he leads his country into the 2026 ICC Men鈥檚 U19s World Cup against India on Friday.
When Rew last left English soil at the start of November he had not made a first-class appearance, was not yet legally an adult and his A-Levels were front and centre of his thoughts.
It is fair to say it鈥檚 been a big three months in the life of Thomas Rew since.
After being picked for his first England Lions tour where he rubbed shoulders with the England Men鈥檚 team as they prepared for the Ashes in Perth, he made his first-class debut against Australia A in Brisbane, celebrated his 18th聽birthday in Canberra, travelled around South Africa with Paarl Royals in the SA T20, before captaining his country at the Men鈥檚 U19s World Cup in Zimbabwe.
鈥淵eah, it has been a pretty amazing few months 鈥� and it鈥檚 weird to think I鈥檓 actually going to be back in school on Monday,鈥� Rew laughed when speaking to ecb.co.uk after his century in their semi-final against Australia booked their final place.
鈥淓very one of those experiences has been eye-opening and to now be getting ready to play in a World Cup final is hard to believe.鈥�
There is one experience from his winter that stands out more than most. It was a pinch-yourself-moment when he was batting against some of his childhood heroes for the Lions in their warm-up match against England at Lilac Hill in Perth.
鈥淚 was batting and Joe Root was bowling at one end and Ben Stokes at the other end,鈥� he said.
鈥�(Harry) Brook and Root were both fielding in quite close to me and they were both giving me little bits of advice and how to play on slower wickets.
鈥淚 was trying to over-hit the ball and a big point that Root was saying was to focus on timing and to play it late. You might get twos instead of fours but that is how you can build your innings.
鈥淛ust being able to get that sort of advice from England鈥檚 greatest ever players while I was batting means a lot to me.
鈥淭o be around that Ashes was an invaluable experience. To look at the way the first team goes about things was unbelievable.鈥�
Among the England U19s, it is not just Rew who has benefitted from exposure to new experiences.
All but two members of the 15-player squad played first-team county cricket last summer, with increased exposure in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, in which Leicestershire seamer Alex Green was the competition鈥檚 leading wicket-taker.
Vice-captain Farhan Ahmed played seven Rothesay County Championship matches in Nottinghamshire鈥檚 successful campaign as well as appearing in The Hundred before captaining the U19s in Rew鈥檚 absence during a seven-match Youth ODI series in the Caribbean before Christmas.
In addition to Rew both Ahmed and Ben Mayes also each have Lions exxperience.
春梦直播 England Men鈥檚 Managing Director, Rob Key, believes the number of young players making their mark is a reflection on a strength of the county pathway system.
鈥淭he talent that we are seeing come through the county pathways is exceptional,鈥� Key said.
鈥淭here is a really strong breadth and depth of talent that those county pathways are developing which is a testament to how well those pathways are working. We are seeing players come into our England pathways and U19s teams that are at a very high level already.
鈥淭hat is playing out in the results we have seen at the U19s World Cup where they have won every game going into the final, but we are also seeing it in the way the majority of that squad have already played senior cricket.鈥�
Rew believes the experiences the squad has enjoyed together as a team with the U19s has also been important in their success so far in Zimbabwe.
The Caribbean tour before Christmas was preceded by Youth ODI series against India, who England will meet in Friday鈥檚 final, Bangladesh and Ireland last summer.
鈥淎 great strength of this team is that we are such a tight-knit group,鈥� Rew said.
鈥淵ou can see that in the way everyone is contributing. We have played a lot of cricket together recently at U19s level and have done a lot of work with the coaches which has enabled us to gel as a team.
鈥淲hen we arrived we felt like we were in a great position to take on a World Cup because we know our roles. It makes my life easier as a captain as well.
鈥淚 can also lean on other players with experience in the team. Farhan鈥檚 cricket brain is second to none. When he鈥檚 bowling he changes his pace so well - he鈥檚 always one step ahead.
鈥淭hat definitely lightens the load on me as a captain. I don鈥檛 feel my role is as much then which allows me to concentrate on my skills as a player.鈥�
England have not won an ICC U19s Men鈥檚 World Cup since 1998 and Rew admits at the end of a dream winter it would be the pinnacle of his fledgling career should the Young Lions win.
鈥淚t would. We have all looked forward to this moment and this World Cup,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o be at a final is a special feeling and hopefully we can have one more big push on Friday.鈥�
Then, back to school on Monday. 鈥淚鈥檓 not thinking about that just yet! It will be good to see my mates again though. I鈥檝e been gone a while.鈥�