News Analysis
Has a single training session ever told us quite so much about where English cricket sits? England gathered in Leeds at nine o’clock on Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s ODI against South Africa, though a third of the squad were still on the M1 after the Hundred final. Two hours in, Jamie Overton – one of the few actually at Headingley – announced he was stepping away from red-ball cricket “indefinitely”. The message landed with a thud.
Harry Brook admitted he was “a little bit shocked” by the timing, not least because an Ashes trip is only eight weeks off and Overton would almost certainly have been on the plane. A quick scan of the ground, though, was reminder enough: gaps between series are now measured in hours, not weeks, and something had to give sooner or later. This time it was a Test seamer.
Brook’s own diary looks draining just written down. Since 22 May, the start of England’s home summer, he has played six Tests, six limited-overs internationals and nine matches in the Hundred. That tournament began roughly 24 hours after Brook dragged himself off the field at The Oval following the epic fifth Test against India. His post-match interviews ended late on Saturday; by Monday morning he was answering questions about a brand-new series. There is very little runway for recovery, let alone reflection.
“It’s an ideal world, we’d have liked to meet up yesterday and train yesterday, [then] train today and go into the game as a group,” Brook said. “But nobody is short of cricket, that’s for sure.” The schedule feels relentless and, frankly, a touch careless with players’ bodies and minds.
South Africa’s build-up looks slicker only by comparison. They flew in from Cairns after a short white-ball trip to Australia, then took a couple of days to thaw out. “The first couple of days were about the guys recovering, getting over jetlag,” captain Temba Bavuma explained. “We’ve had our practice sessions – gym, on the field – and a bit of leisure for the boys.” It sounded almost relaxed, though Bavuma conceded there are always “distractions” humming in the background. “Guys always have one eye on what is happening in the Hundred, with the final happening yesterday, there’s the auction [next Tuesday] with the SA20… That’s the life of an international cricketer. It’s just part of the package.”
Those distractions carry real selection weight. South Africa ruled out David Miller for this series because he had been playing for Northern Superchargers alongside Brook; they lost Heinrich Klaasen to the franchise circuit, and dare not lose another middle-order anchor. England have historically avoided similar headaches thanks to the ECB’s central contracts, yet Overton’s move feels like a line in the sand. Plenty of England players have skipped lower-profile tours to chase T20 money, but a front-line Test quick parking red-ball cricket on the eve of an Ashes winter is genuinely new ground.
Rob Key, the managing director, conceded the news was both “unexpected” and “sad” when it reached him. In truth, administrators have been warned for years that something like this was coming; the calendar keeps growing, pay packets keep diverging and players, quite reasonably, protect their livelihoods. Overton has merely pressed the red button first.
Where does that leave England for Tuesday? They will field a well-worn but still talented XI, many of whom look as though they could do with a fortnight on a beach. The cricket, as Brook noted, is not the problem; it is the squeeze. One training session, one announcement, and suddenly the depth of the problem is plain.
Perhaps the only genuine surprise is that it took this long.
