Craig Overton

Craig was educated at West Buckland School in North Devon and has progressed through the Devon Age Groups before graduating from the Somerset Academy.

In 2011 he was a member of the National Performance Programme and toured Sri Lanka with the England Under 19s. In 2012 he was a member of the England Under 19 World Cup squad in Australia.

Craig made his First Class debut in 2012 against Lancashire at Taunton and also his List A debut against Durham at Chester-le-Street at the end of the season he was named Somerset Academy Player of the Year.

During that winter he was selected for the England Lions tour to Australia where he performed well. Sadly, a stress fracture of the back prevented Craig playing in all but one match in 2013.

Restored to full fitness Craig made great strides in 2014 playing in 13 First Class matches scoring 431 runs with a highest of 99 against Lancashire at Taunton and taking 42 wickets with a best of 5 for 63 against Durham at the same venue.

In one-day cricket, Craig played in 14 matches scoring 80 runs and taking 7 wickets in 2014.

Craig enjoyed his best season to date in 2015 during which he underlined that he is a genuine all-rounder, scoring 320 runs at an average of 29.09 with three 50s and taking 43 wickets at 21.70 with a best of 6 for 74.

He also claimed 12 List A wickets at 20.83 in the six matches he played.

During the summer Craig was called up for the England ODI series but didn’t play and the 2015-16 winter he is involved with the ECB performance programme.

Craig enjoyed another successful season in 2016, during which he scored 435 first class runs including his maiden century- 138 against Hampshire at Taunton and took 34 wickets.

2017 saw Craig progress his game even further and he played in virtually every game in all formats. In the Championship he took 46 wickets at 22.39, in T20 he claimed 15 at 27.33, while in the Royal London One Day Cup he was Somerset’s leading wicket taker with 16 at 24.06.

Craig was chosen for the England T20 squad for their series against South Africa, but didn’t get picked. On the strength of his best ever season Craig was selected by England for their Ashes tour over the winter. He made in Test Match debut in Adelaide, top scoring with an unbeaten 41 in England’s first innings. His first wicket was that of Australian Captain Steve Smith.

In 2018 Craig played 11 Championship matches in which he scored 331 runs and took 37 wickets, the joint highest for Somerset. He also took 12 wickets at an average of 28 in six RLODC matches.

2019 was another very impressive year for Craig. He was outstanding throughout Somerset’s County Championship campaign, recording 45 First Class wickets at an average of 18.86. He was rewarded with a call-up to the England team for the 4th Ashes Test against Australia. Craig also played a starring role as Somerset won the Royal London One-Day Cup, ending 2nd in the overall MVP list for the tournament.

Craig has notched up 8 test appearances for England, taking 21 wickets with a best of 3/14 against India. He has also played 4 ODIs.

Craig enjoyed excellent 2020 and 2021 seasons taking 72 First Class wickets and winning the Somerset County Championship Player of the Season Award. He was also included in the 2021 PCA team of the year.