Somerset pair Overton and Luff sweep PCA player of the year awards

Somerset have swept the main prizes at the Professional Cricketers' Association awards, with Craig Overton named men's player of the year and Sophie Luff taking the women's award.

The winners were confirmed on 30 September after voting by fellow professionals in England and Wales. The PCA is the representative body for past and present first-class cricketers in the two countries, BBC Sport reported.

Overton earned the men's prize after a heavy all-round season. The 32-year-old scored three first-class hundreds — centuries in the multi-day game — and averaged less than 20 with the ball in the County Championship, the four-day domestic competition. He beat Joe Clarke, George Hill and Dan Lawrence to the award.

He has eight Test caps for England. His domestic form also brought him the PCA Men's Domestic Overall MVP award after he finished top of the bowling table.

Luff took the women's prize after passing 1,000 runs across formats during the summer. She averaged in excess of 40 in the One-Day Cup, the 50-over competition, and was part of the Trent Rockets side that won The Hundred, the 100-ball franchise tournament. She beat Maia Bouchier, Sophia Dunkley and Mady Villiers.

She is the first winner of the women's award not to have played international cricket since 2021. That is the point. Consistency in county colours carried her past three England players.

The young player awards went to Sonny Baker and Tilly Corteen-Coleman. Baker made his Test debut against New Zealand at The Oval in June. Corteen-Coleman was included in the England squad for the T20 World Cup.

There were two honours for England stalwarts. Heather Knight received the Outstanding Contribution Award following her international retirement. Tammy Beaumont collected a Special Merit Award.

For fans, this means two things. Overton's name returns to the England conversation on weight of runs and wickets. Luff's win puts the domestic summer centre stage.