Thomas Rew, 18, named England Lions captain for West Indies T20s

Thomas Rew has been named captain of the England Lions for a three-match T20 series against West Indies A in St Kitts and Nevis in November; the report was published on 16 October 2026. The 18-year-old’s appointment comes in the same week he earned his first senior call-up and a central contract.

A wicketkeeper-batter, Rew led England Under-19s to the final of the World Cup earlier this year. He produced his first two first-class hundreds for Somerset during the summer and does not turn 19 until 29 November.

It is thought the 18-year-old will become the youngest captain in Lions history when he leads the side in the Caribbean. Rew will skipper a squad that includes his older brother, James Rew. Thomas, Hampshire seamer Eddie Jack and Sussex all-rounder James Coles are the three players who will be involved on the Lions tour and then travel to Australia.

The three T20s in the Caribbean are followed by a five-match one-day series against West Indies A. That one-day squad will be captained by Test batter Dan Lawrence. Lawrence is joined in the one-day squad by seamer Sam Cook, with both men using the Lions tour as part of their preparation for the senior team's three Tests in South Africa in December.

Former England batter Jonathan Trott is taking charge of the Lions' winter tours following the departure of former head coach Andrew Flintoff. The elevation of Thomas Rew to Lions captain is a further sign of the high regard he is held in by the England hierarchy.

Hampshire seamer Scott Currie is named in the T20 squad. Born in Poole, Currie played three one-day internationals for Scotland in 2014 and his brother Brad has 39 caps for the Scots. Scott was called into England's squad for a T20 series in Ireland last year; although he did not play, he was subsequently barred from reverting to Scotland at this year's T20 World Cup because he was named as an England substitute fielder in Dublin.

The England Lions T20 squad for the three-match series v West Indies A is: Thomas Rew (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Scott Currie, Adam Finch, Calvin Harrison, Jack Haynes, Eddie Jack, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, James Rew, Naavya Sharma, Ekansh Singh, Asa Tribe.

The England Lions squad for five one-day matches v West Indies A is: Dan Lawrence (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Coles, Sam Cook, Mason Crane, Adam Finch, Jack Haynes, Eddie Jack, Ben Kellaway, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, James Rew, Thomas Rew, Naavya Sharma, Ekansh Singh, Asa Tribe.

Rew does not turn 19 until 29 November. If he plays on the senior tour of Australia, he would become the third-youngest man to make his England debut in any format after Rehan Ahmed and Brian Close, and the youngest man to play for England against Australia.