JAMIE OVERTON’S T20 WORLD CUP DREAM HANGING BY A THREAD AFTER INCONCLUSIVE BACK SCAN
Jamie Overton’s hopes of becoming England’s big-hitting bolter for June’s T20 World Cup are hanging by a thread due to a back issue.
Surrey’s Overton, who is uncapped in T20 cricket but has played one Test, emerged as a leading contender to make the 15-strong after Ben Stokes withdrew from the tournament to prioritise Test cricket.
All-rounder Overton was the Most Valuable Player in last year’s men’s Hundred (smashing 202 runs at 40.40 and a strike rate of 181.98 to complement his pace bowling) and has become an outstanding performer on the global franchise scene for the likes of Adelaide Strikers.
Overton missed more than four months of cricket last season with a stress fracture of the back, and fears emerged earlier this month that he had another serious back injury. Scans have proved inconclusive, however, and it is understood that he has been prescribed a fortnight of rest before more scans to determine the seriousness of the injury.
It is not impossible, therefore, that he recovers in time to travel to the West Indies, which is hosting the tournament with the USA, in June. But his selection would require a significant leap of faith from England, who are required by the International Cricket Council to submit a provisional 15-man squad by May 1, next week.
England can change the provisional squad before the end of May, but after the debacle ahead of last year’s World Cup when Harry Brook was parachuted into the squad, effectively ending Jason Roy’s international career, they are likely to want to nail their squad at the first time of asking.
England have four T20 internationals at home to Pakistan in May, which will double as a warm-up for the tournament. It is as yet unclear whether every player currently at the Indian Premier League would come home for that series, with England likely to make decisions on an ad hoc basis. All players could be back by the end of that series, but the first two matches clash with the IPL knockouts, which are likely to feature Phil Salt, who is likely to open for England at the World Cup after a brilliant tour of West Indies in December.
Will Jacks also looks likely to make the squad, with Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone also providing all-round options.
2024-04-24T13:35:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd