Overton turns county dominance into player of the year prize

Craig Overton has turned a superb county summer into the top individual prize in the English game — and a direct message to the national selectors.

The Somerset all-rounder, who contributes with both bat and ball, was named men's player of the year at the Professional Cricketers' Association awards after a season in which Somerset finished second in the County Championship, the first-class league that sits below Test cricket. BBC Sport

The numbers explain the vote. Overton took 53 wickets at an average of 19.18 runs apiece, the third-best tally in Division One. He also scored 734 runs, including three hundreds. That is rare weight in both disciplines across the same summer.

England is the next target. The 32-year-old has 15 caps — eight Test matches and seven one-day internationals — but has not played for his country since 2022.

Speaking to the BBC Test Match Special podcast after collecting his award, Overton said he wants to make the selectors' decisions "as hard as possible" by piling up performances. He added he is "always thinking about" an England return, though he has had no contact about a recall.

His name has come up in talk about the pace-bowling all-rounder gap left by Ben Stokes' retirement. It is a specialist job: bowl at full pace, then bat well enough to change a game in the middle order.

What makes this stand out is the route. County cricket rarely shouts. It accumulates. Overton has simply kept taking wickets and making hundreds until the conversation restarted itself.