Overton began a rise to wider prominence in the cricket world with a hostile spell of bowling in the opening match of the 2012 U-19 World Cup against Australia in Townsville, registering speeds approaching 93 mph (150 km/h) on his way to claiming two top-order wickets via slip catches held by his brother.[4][5]
On 1 August 2020, it was announced that Overton had rejected Somerset's offer of a new contract and had chosen to join Surrey on a three-year contract ahead of the 2021 season.[6] In the same month, during the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy, Overton scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.[7] In September 2020, Overton requested to join Surrey immediately on loan for the remainder of the 2020 season.[8]
In February 2023 he was retained by the Manchester Originals for the 2023 season of The Hundred. Overton was named player of the tournament for the 2023 season of The Hundred after several impressive performances with both bat and ball for the Originals. On 30 August 2023 Overton signed a new contract with Surrey after vastly contributing to Surrey's success since joining the club[10]
On 29 May 2020, Overton was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[12][13] On 17 June 2020, Overton was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.[14][15]
In May 2022, a new initiative by the ECB designed to discover and track the bowling speed of cricketers in first class cricket showed Overton bowling at 90mph.[16] The following month, Overton was added to England's Test squad for the third and final match against New Zealand.[17] He made his Test debut on 23 June 2022 for England against New Zealand.[18]