Teenager Thomas Rew has been named England Lions captain in the same week he earned his first senior call-up and central contract. It is thought the 18-year-old will become the youngest captain in Lions history when he leads the side in three T20s against West Indies A in St Kitts and Nevis in November.
Rew skippers a squad that includes his older brother, James. Earlier this week, Thomas was given an England developmental deal and named in a full squad for the first time for the upcoming T20 series in Australia.
Thomas, Hampshire seamer Eddie Jack, and Sussex all-rounder James Coles are the three players who will be involved on the Lions tour before traveling on to Australia. The Lions' T20 matches in the Caribbean are followed by five one-day fixtures, with the squad for that series captained by Test batter Dan Lawrence.
Lawrence is joined in the one-day squad by seamer Sam Cook, as both men utilize the Lions tour as part of their preparation for the senior team's three Tests in South Africa in December. The rapid elevation of Thomas Rew to the Lions captaincy is a further indication of the high regard in which he is held by the England cricket hierarchy.
The wicketkeeper-batter previously skippered the England Under-19 side to the final of the World Cup earlier this year, before going on to score his first two first-class centuries for Somerset during the summer. Rew does not turn 19 until November 29.
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, as well as the youngest man ever to play for England against Australia.
Hampshire seamer Scott Currie is also part of the T20 squad. Born in Poole, Currie previously played three one-day internationals for Scotland in 2014, while his brother Brad has accumulated 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.
Former England batter Jonathan Trott is taking charge of the Lions' winter tours following the departure of former head coach Andrew Flintoff. The England Lions T20 squad for the three-match series against West Indies A features Thomas Rew as captain, alongside 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, and Asa Tribe.
The squad for the subsequent five one-day matches against West Indies A includes Dan Lawrence as 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, and Asa Tribe.