England’s Jamie Overton happy to entertain on rollercoaster Test debut

Jamie Overton has already ridden the highs and the lows of Test cricket in the first three days of his England career and admitted he was enjoying leaving fans “on the edge of their seats”.

Despite being handed a debut at Headingley due to his 90mph pace bowling, Overton almost had his name up in lights for a century in his first ever Test innings.

Instead he was dismissed for 97, a knock that helped drag the game away from New Zealand during a 241-run stand with Jonny Bairstow, who hit an outstanding 162.

Overton did not have long to agonise over the missing three runs, with England hurried back into the field with a 31-run lead.

The tourists looked rock solid at 125 for one, but when Overton had Tom Latham caught behind off the first ball of the evening session the tone shifted. They stumbled to 168 for five by the time rain brought an early end, with England surely satisfied to be just 137 behind.

“It’s been good fun. Obviously I was very disappointed getting out on 97, but I feel like I’ve contributed to the team,” he said.

“It’s always a challenge when you first go into something, but I feel I’ve done okay. I’d like to take a few more wickets, but I’m more than happy to get 97. I didn’t think I’d get anywhere near that, especially coming in at 55 for six.

That’s entertaining cricket and that’s what we want to be doing. I like to think I'm quite an entertaining cricketer- Jamie Overton

“Ben Stokes has got the ethos of trying to be entertainers for everyone and he said in the changing room earlier that the way me and Jonny played had the crowd on the edge of their seats. That’s entertaining cricket and that’s what we want to be doing. I like to think I’m quite an entertaining cricketer.”

Overton, who spent most of his