Thursday was a day off for the players at Somerset, and there were no prizes on offer for guessing where England new boy James Rew will have spent it.
“He’s bloody good at golf, but he’s rubbish at football – you can quote me on that,” laughs Jason Kerr, the Somerset head coach and a man who was instrumental in bringing Rew through the academy system at Taunton.
“I’m going to say that he plays [golf] off one or two – I know he has got an incredibly low handicap. He plays too much of it, but he is very good at it, I’ve got to say that. We’ve got some really good golfers here, but he’s definitely up there. It’s what they all seem to do in their downtime these days. He’s just incredible competitive at all sports. The fact he can’t play football gives us all a little bit of hope, though.”
With England manager Thomas Tuchel unlikely to be beating a path to his door, it has left the path free for Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes to add him to their squad for England’s first Test of the summer against Zimbabwe.
Rew has been brought into the side in place of the injured Jordan Cox, who must wonder whether he will ever get a chance to win a first Test cap. He also broke a finger shortly before England’s Test series against New Zealand back in November.
Injury has again prevented Jordan Cox from making his England debut (Photo: Getty)Cox’s loss, though, is very much Rew’s gain. And the 21-year-old has a habit of making the most of his opportunities.
Currently averaging 54.21 in this season’s County Championship, earlier this week he became the youngest Englishman since Denis Compton in 1939 to score 10 first-class centuries.
“I had no idea until someone told me, but that’s a phenomenal effort,” says Kerr. “You can take someone like James for granted because he’s already achieving so much, but he’s an exceptional young talent.
“He’s not wearing Brylcreem [Compton was the first sportsman to be sponsored by the company] yet, maybe that’s the next step.”
Rew is unlikely to be short of commercial opportunities as his own career progresses, but first he will be focusing on the serious business of scoring runs. And lots of them.
2⃣1⃣ Years old1⃣0⃣ First Class hundreds4⃣3⃣.3⃣5⃣ First Class Average
Enjoy the very best of James Rew #WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/KlyKdSg2Xf
— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) May 8, 2025
“He’s hungry, he’s very aware of the responsibility that he has and what he wants to do for the team,” Kerr says.
“Last week [against Essex, when he scored 116 in Somerset’s second innings] was a great example.
“He got to 50 and then got to his hundred, but didn’t particularly celebrate either – he was very focused on what the team needed and getting us over the line. He pretty much did that.
“Again, he’s someone who has been incredibly impressive in the way he plays the game in the moment and then, as soon as six o’clock or 6.30 rolls around, he has the ability to park what has happened in the day, walk away and probably go and play a round of golf or do some other sport.”
He is unlikely to be short of golfing opportunities when he joins up with England. But this is a cricketer who is very much at the top of his game.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( England’s new boy wonder ‘is bloody good at golf’ )
Also on site :
- Watch Live: American Cardinal Robert Provost chosen as new pope
- White smoke appears over Sistine Chapel as Conclave elects new Pope
- New Pope elected