“It would mean absolutely everything"

“It would mean absolutely everything” – Thomas hoping for World Cup glory

Somerset’s Thomas Rew will lead England out in the Under 19 World Cup final later this week.

The 18-year-old has led from the front and his century against Australia in the semi final helped the Young Lions to reach Friday’s showpiece match.

We spoke to Thomas this morning to get his thoughts ahead of the big game.

How is it going to feel to lead the team out in a World Cup final?

“It’s going to feel very special. This group had one ambition coming into this tournament and that was to win the World Cup. We’re one step closer now and it will be a great feeling to walk out onto the pitch in the final.”

How proud are you to be a part of this team?

“Very proud. It’s always nice to contribute to a few wins and getting off to a good start really helped. We’re full of confidence and we carried that momentum forward into the Super 6s and the semi final.

“We’ve kept our focus really well throughout the tournament and we haven’t taken anything for granted. We’ve looked to put every opponent under pressure, and nothing will change from a mindset point of view. We’ll be looking to build on the momentum and to go hard in the final.”

How special was the semi final win over Australia?

“It was a great game of cricket. It’s always nice to beat Australia and having spent the winter watching the Ashes that was a nice victory for us.”

Has Thomas, who has scored 299 runs at an average of 74.75, been pleased with his form?

“I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve batted so far and I’ve had a lot of help on the field from the team, which has helped me a lot because it’s not always that easy to captain from behind the stumps. It’s been a great team effort.”

Thomas has been moved by the amount of messages that he’s received from home during the tournament.

“It’s been really nice to open my phone and receive a few messages from people back home,” he said. “People from school have said that they’ve been watching the games in lessons and it’s a nice feeling to know that you’ve got that support. Everyone’s been really kind, and it really is a good feeling.”

What would it mean to lift a World Cup as an England Captain?

“It would mean absolutely everything. Over the last two years this squad has been targeting this World Cup. It’s been the ambition of all of us. It would be a dream come true to lift the trophy, so hopefully we can get over the line.

“We need to stick to the game plan that’s worked so well in this tournament. Everyone has contributed so far and we’ll continue to look to put bowlers under pressure. With the ball we’ve been excellent at hitting the top of the stumps and not giving the batters much width or length. That makes it tough to score runs in 50-over cricket which means that we force their batters to take risks. We’ve been able to build pressure really well, so we need to do that again.

“There’s one more game to go and I think we’ve got a great chance.”

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