Like everybody else in English cricket, I have been thinking a lot about James Rew. Numbers tend to cut through noise, and his are difficult to ignore. Rew is currently the second most prolific run-scorer in the country, with his County Championship total of 379 from five innings at an average of 75.80 only bettered by Jamie Smith, who has 401 from five innings at 80.20. These numbers place him firmly in the conversation, even in a season that has barely found its rhythm.
It is not in doubt that Rew is making himself undeniable. But if England want a proper opener, then there is not really a spot for him. England's batting order, for all the churn of recent years, has settled into something resembling structure. The middle-order is rightly locked down. Jacob Bethell wants to bat at number three, and you have more chance of Liam Livingstone getting a recall under Rob Key than you have them messing about with Joe Root and Harry Brook's number four and five berths.
The Opening Conundrum
Rew's case is compelling but also complicated by circumstance. If one works on the premise that England view Test opening as a specialist job, it leaves a straight shoot-out between Rew and Smith at number seven. Smith's trajectory has not been without turbulence. He had a poor second half of 2025, including a dire Ashes and a frenetic series against India where he went from Adam Gilchrist to Kamran Akmal in the space of five weeks. However, that is not uncommon for young players. Runs are currency, and Smith's good form has put paid to any suggestion he should be spending the New Zealand series watching from Guildford.
Shift the lens slightly, though, and the conversation alters. If England are open to shaping an opener rather than selecting one fully formed, Smith's name inevitably resurfaces. It has been talked about that Smith could move up the order since he made his international debut. He has batted at first drop for Surrey.
There is not a lot of evidence for Brendon McCullum, Rob Key, and Ben Stokes believing that opening for England is a specialist job. Ben Duckett plays at number three for Nottinghamshire, Smith does the same for Surrey and does not have the gloves, and Zak Crawley is well, Zak Crawley.
Somerset's Role
The BBC has reported that England have asked Somerset for Rew to open in the next round of County Championship fixtures, and Somerset coach Jason Kerr believes he absolutely could open for Baz and Stokes' boys. None of this is to advocate throwing a player into the deep end as a Test opener on debut. England have been down that road before, and it has rarely ended well. Ask Dan Lawrence. But the reports allude to the way the wind is blowing. There is, too, a broader tidiness such a move might bring.
Alternative Suggestions
April has a habit of encouraging theories in the absence of hard news, many of them fleeting and not especially convincing. Nasser Hussain had the idea of sending Bethell up to open when he has just made a hundred at number three in Australia. Another podcast suggested moving Smith up to open and Stokes down to number seven in order to accommodate Rew at number six. Too much tinkering. Another suggestion was Bethell to open, Smith to number three, and Rew slotted in the middle-order. The belief was that Rew would be capable of counter-attacking alongside the tail, but I would question whether it would be beneficial for Bethell, who has played one match for Warwickshire since August 2024 and will not have played red-ball cricket for six months by the time he lines up at Lord's on June 4.
Data and Temperament
There is no meaningful body of evidence to suggest Rew is a Test opener. Equally, there is precious little to suggest Crawley is either. In his 60 first-class matches, Rew is yet to open the batting. He has had four goes at opening in List A cricket, returning a century and another score of 96. Ten of his 12 first-class hundreds have come at number six. But if there is one thing McCullum and Stokes are not typically swayed by, it is a lack of data. There is an argument to pick the best batters in the country and then figure it out. Rew has the temperament to succeed and, by now, a healthy portfolio of being able to problem solve. The New Zealand series, with Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke, the slope at Lord's, and the bounce at the Oval, will bring challenges.
England's past is littered with young players nudged into ill-fitting roles, their development compromised in the process. That caution should not be dismissed lightly. Even so, there is a growing sense that Rew might adapt quicker than most, such as Ben McKinney, Asa Tribe, or Emilio Gay, and, on current evidence, with greater assurance than Crawley.
Historical Comparisons
The unspoken reality is the calibre of opposition. As Matt Roller on Cricinfo's Switch Hit podcast pointed out, it is hard to envisage England picking anybody to partner Duckett at the top of the order who does not end September having averaged 25 to 35. Trace the line back to Andrew Strauss, and the pattern is difficult to ignore. Rory Burns averaged 30.32 from 32 Tests, Nick Compton managed 31.13 from 10, Michael Carberry averaged 28.10 from five, Dom Sibley averaged 28.94 from 22. Sam Robson and Joe Denly averaged 30.54 and 31.33 from seven and three Tests respectively. Alex Hales averaged 27.28, Mark Stoneman 27.68, and Haseeb Hameed, Keaton Jennings, and Alex Lees averaged 23.18, 25.16, and 23.58.
Rew's appeal lies in the rawness of his qualities as much as the numbers. There is a pleasing duality to his batting: the willingness to dig in and accumulate when conditions demand, allied to that delicious cover drive. He is doing a lot right, as are Somerset as a club. They, and Nottinghamshire too, who are not opening with Duckett, have a right to run their club in a way that gives them on-field success and success for its members. If that means Rew does not open, so be it.
It is, of course, worth managing expectations, which have a habit of racing ahead of reality, particularly at this stage of a season. But if England were naming a Test XI tomorrow, I would have money on them gambling on Rew as opener. And it is a gamble. But if there is one thing this England set-up has a penchant for, it is taking calculated risks.
