Jamie Overton says he lost 10kg in weight as part of his recovery from a stress fracture in his back this year, hoping to aid his England ambitions across all three formats.
The 30-year-old paceman only recently returned to bowling following his latest injury setback in April but claimed career-best figures for England of 3-20 in their T20 series-clinching win over the West Indies on Thursday.
Overton elected not to have surgery after suffering what was the fifth stress fracture of his career but decided to trim down as part of the lengthy rehabilitation process.
“I knew I was that heavy but I didn’t realise I’d put that much on,” Overton said, whose weight loss has equated to around a stone and a half.
“As soon as I got the diagnosis, I was like: ‘I need to lose some weight’. I’ve lost 10 kilos 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.”
Given Overton’s injury troubles, it’s no great surprise that his England career has been limited to a sole Test cap, two ODIs and five T20s – making his debut in the latter two formats only this year.
Overton made his lone Test appearance in England’s first series under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum against New Zealand in 2022. He was selected for his fast bowling but struck a 97 with the bat at Headingley, which went a long way to sealing a 3-0 series win.
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Watch the best moments from Jamie Overton’s debut fifty against New Zealand at Headingley in 2022
His flair for big hitting has even seen Overton selected solely as a specialist batter in the last couple of months, with Overton – now back bowling – targeting a spot in England’s Champions Trophy squad in February, before pushing for a Test recall next summer against India, with the Ashes to follow in late 2025.
“I’ll take it step by step this winter,” Overton 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 and England finish off their white-ball tour of the Caribbean with the final two T20s against West Indies in St Lucia on Saturday and Sunday – both games starting at 8pm (UK time).