Overton says he would consider Ashes return if Joe Root asks
On 21 October 2026, England all-rounder Jamie Overton said he would consider returning to Test cricket for next year's Ashes if approached by captain Joe Root while speaking as part of England's squad for the ongoing one-day tri-series in Pakistan.
Overton, 32, played in England's final Test of the home summer in 2025 against India and had been in contention for last winter's Ashes before taking what he described as an "indefinite break" from red-ball cricket. He has a history of stress fractures in his back, has concentrated on limited-overs cricket since the hiatus and is part of the England squad for the tri-series in Pakistan. England white-ball captain Harry Brook has raised the subject with him: "To be honest, I haven't thought about it," Overton told BBC Sport. "Brooky's mentioned it to me a couple of times, but I've literally not thought about it."
On the possibility of Root contacting him, Overton said: "If Rooty comes to me and says that then, yeah, then I'll have to have a serious think about it." He reiterated that his absence from red-ball action was a break rather than retirement: "I've always said it was an indefinite break. People think I've retired or whatever, but, no, it was a break that I could focus on my white-ball cricket and being really good in my white-ball cricket."
Overton's appearance in the fifth Test against India in July of 2025 was his second Test cap, coming three years after his first, and he had played only four first-class matches in the two years before his recall. When Chris Woakes suffered a dislocated shoulder in that series, Overton became one of three frontline seamers in the XI and bowled 38 overs in the match.
A month after that Test he announced his hiatus from red-ball cricket and ruled himself out of the subsequent Ashes tour. Reflecting on his condition after the India match, he said: "I came off that Test match against India and I felt physically broken. I know we lost the bowler, Wokesey went down with a shoulder injury, but that's the worst I felt in playing cricket for a long time." He added: "It nearly took me two weeks to get ready to play in The Hundred, when you only bowl 20 balls. My shoulder was incredibly sore for two weeks and it just felt like it was an injury waiting to happen if I kept trying to push myself. At that point I was just like: 'Let's focus on my white-ball and red-ball cricket might come back'. I've never said I've ruled it out completely."
England have chosen to field four frontline seamers following Ben Stokes' retirement, with Dan Lawrence at number six who can bowl off-spin, and Overton would be an option to strengthen the lower order if recalled. On his own availability he said: "I've never said I've ruled it out. It's just got to be the right thing at the right time. It's been just over a year and I've been really structured with my workloads and my plans and getting my body into a good spot. I feel really good." He scored 99 on his Test debut against New Zealand in 2022.
Jamie’s twin brother Craig has played in eight Tests, including in the Ashes series of 2017-18 and 2019; Craig had a superb summer for Somerset but, according to BBC Sport earlier this month, had not been contacted by England about a recall. After turning down the trip down under last year, Overton said Australia's visit to the UK next summer "is likely to represent the last chance for a taste of Ashes cricket." He explained his decision at the time: "At that moment I didn't feel like it was the right thing for my body," and added: "The opportunity to play in the Ashes is every kid's dream. I watched Craig do it and was incredibly proud of what he did. Obviously, you want to be there and do it one day."
Overton featured in England's tri-series opener, which they lost to Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. England meet Sri Lanka at the same ground on Thursday, with full commentary of that match on Test Match Special via BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website and app.
