Somerset's Rew can 'absolutely' open for England

Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew can "absolutely" open the batting for England, according to his county head coach Jason Kerr.

Some places in the England Test team are expected to be up for grabs this summer following the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, including at the top of the batting order.

Established opening pair Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett struggled in Australia and managing director Rob Key has said England will make changes in the way they approach selection.

Crawley has made only 60 runs in four County Championship innings for Kent so far this summer, while Duckett made 26 in his sole outing for Nottinghamshire.

In contrast, Rew, 22, has hit 320 runs so far this season, second only to England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith with 396 for Surrey.

Rew has primarily batted at four for Somerset but, after watching him make 86 in his side's first innings at Hampshire, Kerr said Rew was capable of opening.

"[Opening for Somerset] is in my head, but we have to do what is right for the team. What I don't want to do is compromise his opportunity of playing for England," said Kerr.

"He's got to score a volume of runs, and that is what he is doing. The thing to recognise is the way he is doing it. Could he do that at the top of the order for England? Absolutely."

Rew was an ever-present as England Under-19s reached the World Cup final in 2022, and made his England Lions debut the following year.

He became the youngest Englishman to score 10 first-class hundreds last year, aged 21 years and 114 days, and was given a first senior call-up soon after for the Test against Zimbabwe though he did not play.

After a century and two half-centuries this summer, on top of 1,053 County Championship runs and helping Somerset win the T20 Blast in 2025, Kerr believes international honours are only a matter of time.

"He is a good enough player to play international cricket," said Kerr. "He has scored a lot of runs over a lot of years.

"Anyone who knows anything about cricket will look at the way he goes about his cricket and the way he scores those runs and who he scores them against, and on all surfaces.

"He is an incredible talent and one that should get international recognition.

"If he opens the batting then great, I appreciate the middle-order is quite stocked at international level, but a player of that talent should be knocking on the door."