England allrounder Jamie Overton has ruled himself out of the Ashes by ending his red-ball career, paving the way for a full summer with the Adelaide Strikers
England allrounder Jamie Overton has announced he is putting his red-ball career on hold – ruling himself out of a spot on this winter’s Ashes tour.
The pace bowler featured in England’s last Test, against India last month, and had a strong chance of featuring in the squad for the hotly anticipated trip to Australia despite a mixed outing at The Oval.
The selectors will now need to look elsewhere after he shared his decision to focus exclusively on white-ball opportunities.
That includes spending the summer with the Adelaide Strikers, who had signed on to return for a third successive season this summer as their key international recruit.
Overton was a standout performer for the Strikers last summer, claiming 11 wickets while adding 191 runs with the bat. The Strikers were understood to have been making plans to sign a replacement player with Overton set to be involved in the Ashes.
Durham’s Matthew Potts could find himself moving back up the Ashes pecking order after being overlooked this year.
While Overton stopped short of declaring his retirement from first-class cricket, at the age of 31 it looks unlikely that he will be back in the Test reckoning. His appearance against India was just his second cap, coming three years after his first and he does not currently have a central contract with the ECB.
Overton, who is part of the England ODI squad that takes on South Africa at Headingley on Tuesday, posted on social media: “After a great deal of thought I have decided to take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket.
“At this stage of my career, with the demands of cricket across a 12-month calendar, it’s no longer possible to commit fully to all formats at every level, both physically and mentally.”
Another up and coming quick who may benefit from Overton’s self-imposed hiatus is Hampshire’s Sonny Baker. Earmarked earlier this year as one to watch by the England hierarchy, he enjoyed some standout moments in the Hundred including a hat-trick for Manchester Originals against Northern Superchargers.
He has been handed a debut in Tuesday’s ODI series opener against the Proteas, joining Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse in the pace attack.
“He’s been awesome in the Hundred, we’ve seen him bowl at some of the best batters in the world and he’s had them on toast,” England captain Harry Brook enthused.
“It’s been really good to see. He bowls at high pace and can swing it both ways with exceptional death skills as well. Quite a lot of people are excited to see where he goes.
“It looks like he has quite a lot about him.”
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1.30pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3.30pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 11am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT
