James Rew’s keeping came under scrutiny as New Zealand racked up the runs on day three of the second Test at The Oval due to a couple of key errors behind the stumps.
Rachin Ravindra was dropped on seven, while Rew also clutched at fresh air when Nicholls gloved one within his reach on 42. Ravindra eventually fell for 76, while Nicholls is 119 not out as New Zealand built a 352-run lead, closing on 252-3.
But as much as Rew has seen some key chances slip through his hands, it should be noted he has also been dealt a rough hand on debut.
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Highlights from day three of the Second Test between England and New Zealand
This is an England side that called upon him in a crisis. As they did Joe Root, back burdened by the captaincy, with his frustration getting the better of him late on the third evening as Emilio Gay and Harry Brook were on the receiving end of a couple of rollockings.
‘Test cricket a different level of intensity’
As for Rew, he – and Jordan Cox – been given the unenviable task of replacing the lower-order runs of Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith, but he’s also had to keep wicket with the latter away on paternity leave, which was only confirmed on the eve of the match.
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England managing director Rob Key gives his view on Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson following the breaking of a midnight curfew after the first Test at Lord’s
It’s a job Rew is familiar with for Somerset, but as the 22-year-old is no doubt realising, Test cricket is quite the step up in level.
“It’s a different level of intensity,” Sky Sports Cricket’s Simon Doull said. “We talked to Gay this morning about the intensity from a batting point of view and he talked about that climb from county level to Test match level.
“And that’s what it is; you don’t have any off overs, any off half-hours. You have to give it everything, every ball. That takes it out of you.”
A raw England attack – one containing one of the three debutants for the Test in Sonny Baker, as well as Matt Fisher, making only his second appearance four years on from his first – conceded a massive 53 extras in the first innings, with 22 of those clocked as byes.
Despite that, Rew performed well on day one, with none of those 22 able to be attributed to errors by him. If anything, he stopped it from being more.
He technically did drop Tom Blundell when on 34 with what initially looked to be a spectacular take down the legside that replays ultimately showed he had grounded, but it’s only really as the second innings has developed that Rew has increasingly come under the spotlight.
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New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls reflects on their strong showing on day three against England, where he also struck 119 not out
After he spurned the Nicholls chance off Jofra Archer on day three, Sky Sports Cricket’s Dinesh Karthik – a former wicketkeeper with India – said: “It was a tough catch, but it was catchable.
“If you see it again, he’s gone past it – the ball has hit the flap between the thumb and the forefinger – which tells you he’s over-diving.
“Interestingly, his other [dropped] catch – off Ravindra – it’s hit the base of his palm and not his fingers, which means he’s dived further than he needed to.
“That’s the difference! Compared to county cricket, his keeping is going to be under scrutiny… there’s a million people watching on screen, so you feel that pressure.”
Is Rew in danger of being discarded after debut?
Rew hasn’t necessarily looked particularly flustered by his errors. He hast kept a calm facade, even if tormented on the inside, and he still has the chance over the next two days to make amends and stake his claim – with both bat and the gloves – for a more regular spot in this side.
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Will O’Rourke finally dismissed Rew after he survived a dropped catch earlier in the evening session on day two
He had a few nice flourishes of the bat when scoring 24 in the first innings, albeit Will O’Rourke appeared to expose a bit of a weakness to the short ball with his dismissal, as well as a dropped catch just prior.
He can expect to be tested in similar fashion second time round, and for much of his early international career, now that footage exists – should he be afforded another opportunity.
Rew is young, and so this surely won’t be ‘one and done’ for him. But it might well be in terms of this summer, specifically, with Stokes rumoured to be returning for the third Test – and potentially Smith too.
Plus there are a few cautionary tales out there.
Fellow wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey got two goes at Test cricket during the 2021 summer, never to be seen again, saying subsequently: “I found that my mental health was directly related to cricket. It’s definitely triggered by that. The overwhelming pressure I put on myself to go out and do well was hard to deal with when I didn’t.”
There’s also only been one Test afforded to the likes of Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone, Josh Hull and Sam Cook in the last four years under Stokes’ and Brendon McCullum’s leadership.
Sam Cook took just one wicket from his 31 overs on Test debut against Zimbabwe last year
In terms of Hull and Cook, specifically, they’ll be grateful to have been given an opportunity that had seemed unlikely prior to their respective debuts in 2024 and 2025, but neither truly grasped at their chance and so haven’t really been in the conversation since.
Rew, by contrast, will likely linger around for longer. He dominated the discussion in the early part of the summer through his sheer weight of runs for Somerset, where he averages 41.71 in first-class cricket, with 12 hundreds to his name already at such a tender age.
He was seen as the next cab off the rank in terms of prospective England batsmen, so much so that he even moved himself up to open in an ultimately failed experiment in order to try and secure the spot since snaffled up by Gay.
His name will remain relevant. But another thing for him to grapple with is the fact it could be his brother who keeps it so.
Could brothers James (left) and Thomas Rew one day end up playing together for England?
Eighteen-year-old Thomas Rew – a former England U19 captain – already has a first-class ton to his name, averaging 58.20 from his three first-class appearances for Somerset.
Maybe they’ll both end up playing for England and each enjoy storied careers – albeit they each might have to steel themselves to a similar sledge to that which was fired at Mark Waugh by James Ormond during the 2001 Ashes.
Ormond is supposed to have told the brother of Australian captain Steve Waugh: “Maybe I’m not [good enough to play for England], but at least I’m the best player in my family!”
Rew would happily sign up to such barbs if he was to enjoy an international career of equal longevity to the Waughs… he gets his next opportunity to prove he belongs with the way he bounces back over these final two days at The Oval.
Watch day four of the second Test between England and New Zealand live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Saturday (11am first ball). Stream with NOW.
England vs New Zealand results and schedule
All times UK and Ireland, all games live on Sky Sports
First Test (Lord’s) – England won by 115 runsSecond Test (The Kia Oval) – June 17-21 (11am)Third Test (Trent Bridge) – June 25-29 (11am)
