England’s Jamie Overton Takes ‘indefinite Break’ From Red-ball Cricket

Surrey’s Jamie Overton, a personnel of England’s Test squad passim this summer’s bid against India, has announced that he is taking an indefinite break from first-class cricket, saying it was “no longer imaginable to perpetrate afloat to each formats astatine each level”.

Overton’s determination intends that alternatively than perchance being portion of nan squad travelling to Australia for this winter’s Ashes he will beryllium free to honour his statement pinch Adelaide Strikers successful nan Big Bash League, pinch whom he has spent portion of nan past 2 winters – he was named nan team’s MVP earlier this twelvemonth aft taking 11 wickets and scoring 191 runs astatine an mean of 95.5 successful nan 2024-25 season, erstwhile nan Strikers vanished bottommost of nan eight-team league.

“After a awesome woody of thought, I person decided to return an indefinite break from red-ball cricket,” nan 31-year-old said successful a statement. “I consciousness very fortunate to person played 99 first-class matches, including 2 Test matches for England. Red-ball, first-class cricket has provided nan instauration for my master profession and has been nan gateway to each opportunity I’ve had successful nan crippled truthful far. It’s wherever I learnt nan game, and it fuelled nan goals and ambitions that person driven maine for truthful long.

“However, astatine this shape of my career, pinch nan demands of cricket crossed a 12-month calendar, it’s nary longer imaginable to perpetrate afloat to each formats astatine each level, some physically and mentally. Going forward, my attraction will beryllium connected white-ball cricket, and I will proceed to springiness everything to play astatine nan highest level for arsenic agelong arsenic I can.”

Overton’s 2 Tests saw him people a memorable 97 connected debut against New Zealand astatine Headingley successful 2022 earlier returning to nan broadside for nan melodramatic last crippled against India astatine nan Oval successful July, his 5th and last red-ball crippled of nan past 2 summers. After playing 11 first-class matches successful 2022 he has matched that number complete nan pursuing 3 summers combined, pinch backmost injuries restricting his appearances successful nan longest format.

Overton is presently astatine Headingley arsenic portion of England’s squad for nan ODI bid against South Africa that starts connected Tuesday, and has besides been named successful nan squads for nan T20 bid against nan aforesaid opponents and for nan three-match bid successful Ireland that follows.