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James Rew Replaces Injured Batter As England Update Squad For One-Off Zimbabwe Test

Akshita Patel

James Rew included in England's Test squad [Source: @SomersetCCC/X.com]James Rew included in England's Test squad [Source: @SomersetCCC/X.com]

Young Somerset batter James Rew has earned his first call-up to the England Test squad. The 21-year-old has been selected to face Zimbabwe after Jordan Cox was ruled out due to an abdominal injury. 

Jordan Cox had been selected for the squad after missing out on a Test debut over the winter due to a thumb injury. Unfortunately, he hurt himself again while running a single on 99 in a recent County game. 

Even though he reached his hundred, scans later confirmed that he won’t be fit in time to play against Zimbabwe.

James Rew To Replace Jordan Cox In England Squad

After Jordan Cox was ruled out, England called up 21-year-old promising youngster James Rew. He has been one of the top batters in the 2025 County Championship, scoring runs consistently and averaging 54.71 this season. 

He made headlines recently by scoring a crucial fourth-innings century for Somerset in their successful chase of 321 runs against Essex. 

Rew has been closely watched by the selectors for a while. He impressed everyone during the 2022 U19 World Cup by top-scoring in the final. Since then, he has continued to shine in domestic cricket, scoring over 1000 runs in the 2023 season with five centuries. 

Rew is also a wicketkeeper and has played for the England Lions. Now, he joins the England squad as a backup batter.

England's squad is now complete, with Ben Stokes leading the charge as captain. Joe Root, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, and Ollie Pope will comprise the batting lineup, whereas Gus Atkinson and Shoaib Bashir will hold the proceedings with the ball.

The historic one-off Test match between England and Zimbabwe  will be held from May 22-25 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

England's squad for Zimbabwe Test

Ben Stokes (C), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, James Rew, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue