NORTH Devon cricketer Jamie Overton has revealed one of the reasons why he is leaving Somerset for Surrey after 10 years at Taunton is to revive his hopes of playing for England.
Overton, along with elder twin Craig, have been with Somerset since they were 16 year olds and went through the academy system at Taunton to reach the 1st XI.
Both went through the England youth teams – and up to the Lions – and Craig won the first of four Test caps during the Ashes tour of 2017-18.
Jamie wants some England action himself and said after destroying Glamorgan yesterday (Tuesday) that was one of his reasons for joining Surrey.
"Playing Test cricket is my ultimate goal. It was an incredibly tough decision to leave a club I love, but I want to take the new ball and have felt myself to be a little way down the pecking order here,” said Overton, whose five-wicket haul in Glamorgan’s second innings paved the way for a 289-run win in the Bob Willis Trophy.
Although Overton’s current contract at Taunton has more than two months to run, there has been speculation he may be loaned to Surrey before then.
Overton said it will be a wrench when the time comes to leave Taunton and he is in no hurry to bring that date forward.
"At the moment I am taking things very much game to game, but as things stand I expect to be here for the rest of the season before joining Surrey,” said the Barnstaple-born paceman.
"If that is the case, I will be giving everything to help Somerset win the Bob Willis Trophy. I have been told that if I can put together four good performances it might lead to an England place.”
Jason Kerr, the head coach at Taunton, is not keen on loaning Overton to Surrey.
"I am sure Surrey would like that, but the ball is in our court. As Jamie says, we are taking things game by game,” said Kerr.
"We want to win every competition we enter and that means picking our best team for every match."
Twin Craig’s contract is also up at the end of the season, inevitably leading to speculation he will be on the move too.
And another of Somerset’s Devonian contingent, England spinner Dom Bess, is also being courted by rival counties with a view to moving when his contract expires.
