Jamie Overton lost 10kg to aid his recovery from the latest stress fracture in his back and give himself the best chance of being an all-format cricketer for England.
A paceman with a flair for big hitting, Overton’s career has been marred by injuries but England’s interest is clear as the 30-year-old has been chosen as a specialist white-ball batter in the last couple of months.
He has only recently returned to bowling following another setback in April but claimed international best figures of three for 20 at St Lucia as England guaranteed a T20 series win over the West Indies.
Overton elected not to have surgery after suffering a fifth stress fracture in his lower back but decided to trim down as part of his lengthy rehabilitation.
“I knew I was that heavy but I didn’t realise I’d put that much on,” Overton said. “As soon as I got the diagnosis, I was like: ‘I need to lose some weight’. I’ve lost 10 kilos of weight since.
“I’ve always eaten generally pretty well, but I think the quantity of food was always a bit too much, so I’ve gone onto prepped meals. It limits the calories but still gives me all the stuff I need.
“I also bought myself a bike and just got out cycling. Carrying extra weight is not necessarily ideal and I was like ‘if I can go out on the bike, I’m not putting any stress on my body’.
“I still need to lose a little bit more. We’re getting there, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Overton made his lone Test appearance in England’s first series under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, selected ostensibly for his fast bowling although his 97 went a long way to sealing a 3-0 win over New Zealand at Headingley.
Having been told by managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key that England back him, Overton is targeting a spot in England’s Champions Trophy squad in a few months before pushing for a Test recall in time for next summer’s blockbuster series against India followed by the Ashes in 12 months’ time.
“I’ll take it step by step this winter,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll go to India (for a white-ball series) then the Champions Trophy but we’ll see how we go.
“Hopefully when April comes around, I’ll be back playing four-day cricket for Surrey and pushing to get back into the Test side. I’ve still got that ambition to play Test cricket for England again, I’ve just got to get my body right and we’ll see where we get to.”
Overton’s immediate focus will be on helping England finish their white-ball tour of the Caribbean on a high in the final two T20s in Gros Islet on Saturday and Sunday.
He starred at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Thursday with three crucial wickets in the space of seven balls, halting a Windies fightback after they had rallied from 37 for five.
A dipping off-cutter that deceived Romario Shepherd and pinned him lbw was reminiscent of Dwayne Bravo in his pomp but Overton has been compared to another great Windies all-rounder in Andre Russell by one or two of his contemporaries.
“If I can do anything to his ability, then I’ve potentially got quite a long way to go in the game,” a bashful Overton added.
“It’s a good compliment to have because he’s probably one of the greatest T20 cricketers in the world. If I can do anything that’s near his ability, then I’m over the moon.”