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Craig Overton vividly remembers his childhood summer with his twin brother Jamie and spent the entire day at a local cricket club where his father played.
From time to time they messed with the net for 7 to 8 hours. I also played various ball games next to the cricket field.
As Craig says, they will always be competing with “trying to surpass each other.”
“That’s probably why we got to where we got,” he said on Tuesday.
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Not only did they grow into full-fledged British cricket players, Craig and Jamie are now on the same England test team. If they play against New Zealand in their third test starting Thursday in Headingley, they could be the first set of twins to play for the same international team in England.
“It’s really amazing,” Craig said.
The rivalry of the brothers still remains.
Only two weeks ago, 28-year-old Overtons played in an England County Championship match. Craig plays in Somerset and Jamie plays in Sally. Both were high speed bowlers. Jamie sent a fierce bouncer to attack Craig. He led him to maintain a helmet and concussion.
Indeed, Craig had to pass the test on Tuesday to make sure he had no problems playing against the New Zealanders.
“I think brothers’ rivals always need a little extra spice,” Jamie said. “Knowing me and Craig, we’re probably more spicy than many.
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“When we play each other, it will always get a little hot, but that’s its competitiveness. That’s great.”
This is the first time Jamie has been called by a British test team, and having his brother there made the adjustments a bit easier. The team was scheduled to meet on Monday to play a little golf and train on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jamie was rewarded for stealing 21 wickets from Sally this season, averaging 21.61. The pre-season decision paid off by shortening his run-up and making him look a bit explosive.
“It felt really easy and really smooth,” Jamie said.
Craig is a more experienced and reliable twin with 402 wickets in First Class Cricket and nearly twice the pace bowling of Jamie. He has eight test caps in his name and belongs to the team in the first two games of the series with New Zealand (both England won) without actually playing.
Either Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad (two veteran pacemakers in England) will need to rest for the Overton brothers to receive the call. Given that the series is already over and it’s just the beginning of a long summer of cricket, it’s not beyond the realm of possibilities.
England captain Ben Stokes did not train as a precautionary measure on Tuesday and reported feeling sick at the session.
Suddenly, Craig and Jamie were more likely to play for the same England team.
And if that happens, expect Craig (three minutes before the two) to be your boss.
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“I’m a wise man,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just saying I’m older, not how much.”