Jamie Overton is England’s putty, having spent a dozen years filling gaps vacated by others.
First selected at full international level as a teenager, Overton, 31, is a player this England regime values most for his ability to make impacts in different scenarios.
Four years ago, he made the most of being asked to take the Chris Woakes role for the Headingley Test against New Zealand, striking a match-changing 97. In late 2024, when recovering from a back injury, he played as a specialist batsman at No 8 in a one-day international in the Caribbean.
Then, last summer, he was drafted into the Test attack against India at his home ground of The Oval despite a chronic lack of first-class bowling behind him.
Now, his versatility is serving him well at this Twenty20 World Cup. Of the seamers to have bowled a dozen overs or more, only Zimbabwean giant Blessing Muzarabani and South Africa’s Corbin Bosch can better Overton’s economy rate of 6.17.
The Surrey all-rounder did not begin the group stage in England’s XI, losing out on selection to Luke Wood, but since his recall, he has excelled with his bowling variations. In the high-scoring defeat by the Windies, he conceded eight runs an over for his two-wicket return while England’s other seamers Jofra Archer and Sam Curran went at 12s.
Jamie Overton’s three-wicket performance against the Italians represented a career-best as he has become a key part of England’s T20 World Cup drive
The 6ft 5in all-rounder’s bowling at the death has been particularly impressive
In that game at the Wankhede Stadium, he was introduced into the attack at the end of the power play and also closed out the innings. For the two subsequent Group C fixtures, versus Scotland and Italy in Kolkata, he was handed the new ball and then asked to return at the death by Harry Brook, responding with combined figures of 8-1-41-4 – his three-wicket performance against the Italians representing a career-best.
‘In those situations it’s just trying to know exactly what you’re going to do and how you’re going to go about it,’ the 6ft 5in Overton said of stymying the Azzurri’s charge, with his combination of out-and-out hostility and slower change-ups. ‘We do a lot of planning before the games that you can fall back on quite well.’
Earlier in the Italy match, he had come in with 19 balls to go, hitting 15 off nine deliveries in support of Surrey team-mate Will Jacks.
His selfless manner has made him popular at The Oval, where Gareth Batty, in his capacity as captain, labelled him ‘our Andre Russell’ for his long-ball striking prowess.
However, starting against spin – the task likely to be at hand for the upcoming Super Eight meetings with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele over the next few days – is his Achilles heel.
Being swallowed on the extra cover boundary for five off six balls against the Windies, after failing to get enough wood on an aerial blow to Akeal Hosein, was a reminder of his slow torture at the hands of India’s twirlers here last year, when he mustered just 27 runs in five innings.
Yet in tactical talks, Brook reminds his colleagues that one of the reasons this England team can take early risks is the presence of Jacks and Overton in the lower order. ‘With that power and depth we have, we do think we can chase almost anything,’ he says.
‘We do a lot of planning before games that you can fall back on,’ says Overton
However, Overton does have an Achilles heel: starting his innings batting against spin, which is the task likely to be at hand for the upcoming Super Eight meetings with Sri Lanka and Pakistan
‘We’ve got a saying among the group: No one’s going to be braver than us,’ he says. ‘The way we’re going to go about playing our cricket’
But for injuries – a recurring theme of his career – he would have been in previous iterations of the England T20 set-up, namely the last World Cup.
Having waited until 28 for his international debut, the younger Overton twin to Somerset’s Craig has responded positively to being asked to play in his off-the-cuff manner.
‘We’ve got a saying among the group: No one’s going to be braver than us,’ he says. ‘The way we’re going to go about playing our cricket. It might not work every time but we’re going to give it everything we can.’
Starting on Sunday with a clash against a Sri Lanka side England whitewashed as preparation for this tournament.
