Online Reporter
THEY call him the ‘Baby GOAT’ and while the focus today is to try and win his country the World Cup, he has A-Level exams in maths, economics and geography to take care of later this year.
Thomas Rew, the teenager who has captained England into the final of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, comes from a cricket playing family.
His brother, James, is actually the one they call the GOAT.
Thomas Rew might just end up being the best of England’s current young crop.
Four years ago, James was part of the England team which lost to India in the final of the same tournament despite his heroics of scoring 95 from 116 balls.
Now, his younger brother Thomas is trying to go one better and help England win the title at Harare Sports Club today.
Thomas led from the front as his century helped England to secure a 27-run over defending champions Australia in Bulawayo in the semi-finals.
The 18-year-old is determined to build on that performance and help the side lift the coveted trophy.
“Yeah, it means a lot,” Thomas said after the win over Australia.
“We came into this tournament with one aspiration and now there is one more game left.
“I think we’ve all had dreams of this World Cup and lifting the trophy. So it’s just another game of cricket for us.”
The New York Times believe Thomas is part of a gang of cricketers who will form the core of the senior England team in the next few years.
The newspaper has been taking a closer look at Thomas and his teammates, including 18-year-old Ralphie Albert.
Thomas Rew
Age: 18
Role: Right-handed batter — top order/wicketkeeper
County: Somerset
First-class record: 1 match, 66 runs at 33, highest score 47
The Baby GOAT to his elder brother James, Thomas Rew might just end up being the best of England’s current young crop.
An unbeaten 84 in the One-Day Cup against Durham last summer had observers cooing. It was not just the runs, but the way he made them and his temperament. Thomas made it look like it was his 200th 50-over appearance, not his second.
Thomas’ love of cricket grew from travelling around watching his brother’s games, and it didn’t take long for them to be locked in battle, whether in the nets, on the golf course or on a squash court. There is plenty of love between them but also no love lost with Thomas, as the junior sibling, admitting to having occasionally misplaced his temper.
He is captaining England Under-19s at the age group’s 50-over World Cup in Zimbabwe and it is not unthinkable that he will have a full international cap by the time 2026 is out. Between that? He has A-Level exams in economics, geography and maths to sit.
Ralphie Albert
Age: 18
Role: Right-handed batter — middle order/slow left-arm bowler
County: Surrey
First-class record: 1 match, 68 runs at 34, highest score 63; 2 wickets at 4.50, best bowling figures 2-7
Ralphie Albert does not have a famous father like some names on this list, but his mum’s dad is a pretty handy snooker player who also excelled in the jungle. Jimmy White is a six-time World Championship finalist and finished third in series nine of reality show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, but he might soon be usurped as the family’s leading sports star.
Highly rated at Surrey, the 2025 domestic summer gave the wider cricketing world a glimpse of Albert’s all-round talent. He made 96 batting at No 7 in just his second List A appearance, at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire, that knock coming not long after his orthodox left-arm spin claimed 10 wickets in England Under-19s’ second unofficial Test against India.
By September, Albert was debuting in the County Championship in a must-win game away to Hampshire and scoring 63 off 90 balls in Surrey’s second innings. – H-Metro Reporter/ICC/The New York Times
derick.khumalo