Mead was born at Winchester in Hampshire, grew up at Longparish, and was educated at Marlborough College on a sport scholarship.
[1][2] He played cricket for the school XI for five years, captaining the college in 2017 when he scored 1,009 runs during the season, including a Marlborough record 214 not out,[a][3] and was considered a candidate for the honour of Wisden's Schools Cricketer of the Year.
[7][8][9][10] His great-uncle Mike Griffith, who had been the last cricketer to score 1,000 runs in a season for Marlborough in 1961,[3] played more than 350 matches for Sussex County Cricket Club and was an England and Great Britain hockey international,[7][11] whilst his great-grandfather Billy Griffith played three Test matches for England and captained Sussex.
[12] Mead also played rackets at school, winning the under-18 Renny Cup championship at Queen's Club in 2016.
[13][14] Mead made his debut for Kent in May 2022 in a first-class match against a Sri Lanka Development XI.