There are few more satisfying stories in county cricket than a player quietly going about their business, piling up runs and wickets, and daring the selectors to look the other way. Craig Overton is doing exactly that, and after a remarkable 2024 season for Somerset, he has every right to believe an England recall might not be as far-fetched as it once seemed.
A Season That Demanded Attention
Overton's numbers this summer were simply too good to ignore. The Somerset all-rounder claimed 53 wickets in Division One of the County Championship — the third-highest tally in the division — at an impressive average of 19.18. With the bat, he contributed 734 runs including three centuries, underlining his genuine value as a genuine two-dimensional cricketer rather than a bowling all-rounder who can bat a bit. The cricketing community took notice: the Professional Cricketers' Association named him the men's player of the year at their annual awards. It was a richly deserved accolade for a man who helped push Somerset to a second-place finish in the Championship table.
The Man Who Won't Stop Knocking
Overton, now 32, has represented England on 15 occasions — eight Test matches and seven one-day internationals — but hasn't pulled on the Three Lions since 2022. That's a gap of more than two years, yet speaking on the BBC Test Match Special podcast after collecting his PCA award, he made it abundantly clear his ambitions haven't faded. "Any kid's dream is to play for England and I'm no exception," he said. "I've had a little taste of it and enjoyed it but it's also a challenge at the same time." His approach is refreshingly straightforward: keep performing, let the statistics speak, and make the selectors' lives difficult. As he put it himself, his goal is to make their decisions "as hard as possible."
Filling the Stokes-Shaped Void
The timing of Overton's resurgence is particularly interesting when you consider the hole left in England's Test squad by Ben Stokes stepping back from red-ball captaincy duties and the broader question of balance in the pace-bowling all-rounder department. Overton's skillset — high-quality seam bowling combined with genuine lower-order batting substance — fits the profile of exactly what England might need. As a former coach, I've seen how difficult it is to find players who can genuinely contribute in both departments at international level, and Overton is one of the few currently operating in county cricket who can credibly claim to do so. Whether the Bazball-era selectors share that view remains to be seen, but the conversation is a legitimate one. Those following the outright markets for England's Test squad selections may well find Overton's odds of a recall shortening if he maintains this trajectory into next season.
Patient, Professional, and Prepared
What strikes me most about Overton's attitude is the absence of bitterness. He acknowledges that England's selectors have taken the side in a direction that hasn't included him, and he respects that. "If I'm good enough they'll pick me," he told TMS, adding that the selectors see their side developing in a particular way, which he accepts. There's been no contact from the England camp, he confirmed, but that hasn't diminished his focus one jot. He'll keep turning out for Somerset, keep taking wickets and scoring runs, and trust that performances will eventually open the door.
In a county game that doesn't always reward consistency with international recognition, Craig Overton's persistence is admirable. If the selectors do overlook him again next summer despite another haul like this one, it will be a decision that demands serious scrutiny. For now, he's done everything within his power — and then some.
