Overton: Defeat hurts more than the rib
All-rounder in race to be fit for Melbourne Test England players given time off to lift spirits
Tasmania. That is where England cricket teams used to go to recover after a thrashing, and before the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, or the MCG, or simply the “G”.
A few days away from it all in Hobart – or better still Launceston, being less windy and even more pastoral, positively English – would recharge the batteries. Tasmania was an escape from the heat of the mainland, and of the media. A firstclass game against the locals was the ideal place for a shattered batsman like Alastair Cook to make some runs to bolster his aggregate and confidence, or for a bowler to bring his tour average down from three figures to two.
Not on this tour though. Following the loss of the Ashes in Perth, England’s players have been given three days’ break – most with wives, girlfriends, children – before reassembling in Melbourne. Their objective: to avoid the ignominy of another 5-0 defeat, which would be the third for Cook and James Anderson. Lucky they were not playing in 1920-21, the only other whitewash England have endured.
Anderson has bowled the two best spells of this series for England, in Adelaide and Perth, but both came when the game had gone. The tourists’ most consistently challenging bowler has been Craig Overton. Having suffered a hairline fracture in one of his left ribs, he had to be hauled off the Waca by England’s medical staff lest he puncture his lung.
“Obviously I got hit last week,” said Overton, referring to the bouncer from Pat Cummins in the second Test at Adelaide that missed his chest protector. “But it was fine – and in the build-up to the game [in Perth] I was bowling fine in the nets, with no painkillers, nothing.
“That’s why we weren’t worried about it. Then obviously I went for a caught-and-bowled and landed on it – and we think that’s when I did it. I [then] bowled a bumper, and that’s when it hurt.
“It’s a hairline fracture at the minute. I could have made it worse [by diving], or punctured a lung or something.
“That’s why I was making sure I didn’t dive too much on it, because then it could break properly and you could probably puncture a lung – which would make it a lot worse. So I was controlling the diving a little bit, trying to stay on my knees as much as possible.”
If England have had three successes on this tour, they have been Overton, Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan. Each has drawn his determination from a different well. In Stoneman’s case it was his upbringing in the North East, firstly under his father then Paul Collingwood; for Malan it was his upbringing in South Africa, where he moved aged seven.
The same ruthlessly disciplined shot-selection which enabled Malan to score 194 runs was the key to South Africa winning their last three Tests at the Waca.
Sibling rivalry made Overton tough – backyard battles with his twin brother Jamie, who has always bowled faster. Hence Overton’s enjoyment of a duel with an Australian batsman or bowler, while too many team-mates backed off. “Growing up as a kid, with Jamie hitting me, it was ‘Get on with it’ really – and you don’t show too much pain,” he said.
“Yes, I’ve felt like I’ve given it everything I can. Obviously the results aren’t going our way quite at the minute, but we feel we’re not that far off competing with them for periods of time – but they’re prolonging that and are playing better than us.
“I’m still proud showing what I can do but, for me, it’s not about how proud I am as a cricketer, it’s about winning games for England. That’s what hurts the most at the minute – we’re not winning games. So we’ll be trying everything we can in the next one.”
Overton has taken six wickets, so even though he was not selected for the first Test at the Gabba, he has taken more than anyone bar Anderson and Chris Woakes. “And the confidence of being able to bowl and take wickets at this level is massive,” Overton said. “The pitches out here are generally quite flat, and you’ve seen from their bowlers if you have a bit of pace you can still take wickets here. That’s one thing we’re trying to develop a little bit, and I am as well – to get that little bit quicker. It’s still a work in progress, and I’ll keep at it.”
Overton has a sharp bouncer when his ribs allow, but his stock ball is little more than 80mph. What has made him effective is partly the bounce he can get from his steep trajectory and partly his aggressive intent, which is like that of the home side’s bowlers. English pace bowlers attack the stumps; Australians attack the batsman.
He is “not sure yet” whether he
‘If you have a bit of pace, you can take wickets here. I’m trying to get that little bit quicker’
will be fit for the Melbourne Test. “At the minute, there’s quite a lot of swelling in it so we’ve been dealing with that. We’ll wait and see, but I hope three or four days will help.
“I think as a young cricketer, a young sportsman, you’re always wanting to play games. Sometimes you have to be reined in a little bit, and told, ‘Right, you’re not playing this game – it’s probably better for you to rest.’ The draw of playing in that game will be absolutely massive, but I think you’ve also got to be realistic.
“There’s another game after Melbourne [the fifth Test in Sydney], and then the New Zealand Test series as well – so it’s the bigger picture, not just one game, a lot more to come after this.” Overton, and his attitude, will be part of England’s reconstruction.