Craig Overton prepared for tough Ashes baptism

For England's management, the last few weeks could not have been much worse. Ben Stokes's alleged involvement in a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub has put their Ashes plans in disarray. He is almost certainly out of the tour and the reputation of England's current Test vice-captain has been severely damaged. But, as is so often the case in sport and life, as one star falls, another may yet be rising.

Somerset's uncapped fast-bowler Craig Overton has a good chance to be Stokes's replacement in England's final eleven for the opening Test in Brisbane on November 23. Injury to Toby Roland-Jones opened the door for Overton to be included in the squad and he will be fighting it out with Jake Ball and Steven Finn for a place in the side if, as expected, England opt to move Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes up the order and select four seamers in Stokes's likely absence.

Overton received the call from James Whitaker, England's chairman of selectors, to tell him he had made the Ashes squad on the Tuesday evening before it was announced the following day. Overton was in the middle of a Championship game against Middlesex, one Somerset had to win to avoid relegation from the top flight. "I couldn't really concentrate on it [the call-up] at the time," Overton told Cricbuzz. "It was about making sure we won the game and then we could celebrate it after."

Those celebrations included time with his parents and Somerset team mates after the match, which they won, toasting a twin success of Ashes call-up and Division One survival. Overton admits he "wasn't really expecting" to be selected. "People keep asking me if it has sunk in and it hasn't really yet," he said. "Obviously, when I get on the flight, it all starts to become real. As a kid growing up, it's your dream to play in the Ashes. It makes it even more special that it's away from home."

Overton started this season playing for the MCC in Abu Dhabi against Middlesex in the Champion County game, the traditional curtain-raiser to England's domestic season. He took seven wickets in that match and was the most impressive seamer on show. Back in England, he continued in a similar vein for Somerset and finished with 46 wickets at 22.39 during a difficult Championship campaign. It backed up similarly impressive first-class showings in the previous two seasons.

Tall, aggressive and possessing decent pace, Overton has all the attributes to be successful in Test cricket and has improved his consistency and temperament over the past two years. At the end of the 2015 season, Overton, young and wanting to make his mark, was banned for two games after accruing nine disciplinary points, mostly for failing to keep his mouth closed. Overton admits it was a wake-up call and he received extra support from Somerset to help him curb his temper.

The selectors have spoken to Matt Maynard - until last week Somerset's Director of Cricket - and former England opener Marcus Trescothick about Overton and have received good reports. By all accounts, he has toned down the verbals and focused more on his cricket, becoming a leader within the Somerset dressing room. He will, like the rest of the squad, need to keep his head in the hostile Australian environment. "I'm sure the crowd will get stuck in to us but that's part and parcel of touring and you just deal with it and crack on," he said.

Overton, who has toured Australia previously with both England Under-19s and the Lions, has some knowledge of conditions although the atmosphere and intensity will be very different this time round. He has also sought out the advice of former Australian opening batsman Chris Rogers, Somerset's captain in 2016, as to the lengths to bowl at the different venues. Rogers's feedback was that Overton shouldn't tinker too much with what has given him success over the past three seasons.

"I've put on a yard of pace over last winter and with that pace I've added a bit more control," Overton said. "I've got different skills so I can swing it both ways. By playing at Taunton with the spinning wickets and the ball not staying shiny for very long, I've learnt reverse swing and how to control it. I tend to pitch the ball further up now. Chris wanted me to hit the stumps more often than not because batters don't like coming forward to people of my height. If I can bring batters forward I'm going to find the nicks more often and it brings LBW and bowled in as well."

Coaches and selectors are always looking for points of difference between players. Overton, 23 and 6ft 5in, lacks in experience compared to Ball and Finn, both of whom have already played Test cricket, but he is by some margin the best batsman of the three and has a first-class hundred to his name. Given England's recent struggles with the bat, that could be a key deciding factor when the team for Brisbane is chosen.

"Growing up, I always wanted to be a batter who bowled," Overton said. "At the moment, my bowling is quite ahead of my batting but that's one thing I am working on really hard, being consistent with the bat and scoring runs that are crucial. I want to keep developing my technique and if the runs come, sides are hopefully more likely to pick me. I'll be doing quite a lot of batting in the next few weeks to prepare for the chin music that I'm probably going to get!"

Whatever happens with Stokes, Overton is not going to Australia simply to make up the numbers and he hopes to use England's three warm-up matches to press his claims for a Test spot. "We're not sure what's going to happen with Stokesy but I'll be trying to make sure I get a place in the side by performing in those warm-up games," he said. "I'm not expecting too much from the tour. I'll try and perform as much as possible if I get the chance."

Overton's parents will be travelling to Australia and his twin brother Jamie will hope to get out in between stints on England's Pace Programme as he recovers from a back injury. "Mum and Dad have been massive," Overton said. "Growing up as a kid, they drove Jamie and I everywhere. It'll be nice for them to come to Australia and hopefully see me play some cricket. They can have a bit of time off as well as they're pretty busy with work.

"Jamie's had a tough couple of years but he'll come back fighting. Knowing who he is, this call-up for me has probably made him even more determined. We've always sort of gone ahead of each other; Jamie got picked then I got picked ahead of him and then he's gone ahead again. It's nice that we are both competing against each other but we get on really well as brothers. We're really happy for each other when we get success and that's the way it should be."

Overton has been part of senior England squads before. He was called up during the home ODI series against New Zealand in 2015 but did not play and he was part of England's T20 squad for the three match series against South Africa earlier this summer. He did not get a start then either but he has been a regular for the Lions over the past few years although his recent appearances for them have been mainly in white ball cricket.

Now Overton is on the verge of a Test debut in an away Ashes series, the toughest baptism there is in international cricket. He may not have been expecting his call-up but he deserves his seat on the plane. The rest is now up to him. "To play for England is a dream come true whether it's a T20, a one-dayer or a Test match," he said. "I'm not fussed what format I play but I'd rather play Test cricket. That's the pinnacle of the game."