Jamie Overton open to England Ashes return if Joe Root makes approach

Overton says Ashes door is not closed

England all-rounder Jamie Overton would consider returning to Test cricket for next year's Ashes if approached by captain Joe Root, saying he would have to "have a serious think about it".

Overton played in England's final Test of the home summer in 2025 against India and was in line for a place on last winter's Ashes tour, but instead took what he described as an "indefinite break" from red-ball cricket. The 32-year-old, who has a history of stress fractures in his back, has focused on limited-overs cricket since and is part of the England squad for the ongoing one-day tri-series in Pakistan.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Overton said white-ball captain Harry Brook has raised the possibility of him making himself available for Test cricket. "To be honest, I haven't thought about it," said Overton. "Brooky's mentioned it to me a couple of times, but I've literally not thought about it."

On the prospect of Root reaching out about the Ashes, Overton added: "If Rooty comes to me and says that then, yeah, then I'll have to have a serious think about it.

"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."

Why he stepped away

Overton's appearance in the fifth Test against India in July 2025 was his second Test cap, three years after his first. He had played only four first-class matches in the two years leading up to his return to the Test team. When Chris Woakes was lost to a dislocated shoulder, Overton was one of three frontline seamers in the XI and bowled 38 overs in the match. A month later he announced his hiatus from red-ball cricket, ruling himself out of the Ashes tour in the process.

"I came off that Test match against India and I felt physically broken," he said. "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.

"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."

A possible option for England

In the aftermath of Ben Stokes' retirement, England have opted to field four frontline seamers, with Dan Lawrence batting at number six and offering some off-spin. A returning Overton could strengthen their lower-order batting; he made 99 on his Test debut against New Zealand in 2022.

"It's just got to be the right thing at the right time," Overton said. "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."

Twin brother and the Ashes dream

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, though told BBC Sport earlier this month he had not been contacted by England about a recall.

For Jamie, after turning down the chance of a trip Down Under last year, Australia's visit to the UK next summer is likely to be his last chance to play Ashes cricket.

"At that moment I didn't feel like it was the right thing for my body," he said. "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."

Tri-series context

Overton was part of the England team beaten by Pakistan in their tri-series opener in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. England meet Sri Lanka at the same ground on Thursday, with full commentary available on Test Match Special via BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website and app.