In the past few weeks, Somerset's acute injury problem, combined with Alfonso Thomas' spell in the IPL, has led the county to introduce another couple of teenagers alongside the likes of Buttler, Barrow, Gregory, Meschede and Dockrell. What makes Craig and Jamie Overton unusual is not simply that they are brothers- but that they are twins.
Born in Barnstaple, the two are tall, blonde seam bowlers. Peeping into the County Ground at Taunton today, I can testify that they are indeed identical. It seemed quite odd to see Jamie toss the ball to Craig as he returned to his run-up marker. The current game against Durham is not the first time they have represented Somerset together and is unlikely to be their last. Jamie was a little wayward this afternoon but Craig's medium pace looked quite tidy in comparison with his team mates. I wonder whether they would be tempted to swap shirts should one be bowling - or batting - particularly well. "Hey, Tres, didn't we get that bloke out for 150 earlier today?" "No, that's his brother!" (Tee-hee, they'll never know....).
The Overtons are not the only examples of a twin playing for Somerset. Between 1966 and 1982, Derek Taylor was a great servant to county cricket. I remember him as an excellent wicket-keeper who could bat a bit. In those days of blue caps and broad white collars, he stood out as a neat player, and played more than 300 first-class games, scoring four centuries. Derek's twin, Mike was primarily a bowler, and took 830 first-class wickets at a mere 26.52 apiece, largely for Hampshire and Nottinghamshire. No chance of swapping them either, as they never played for the same county, nor even the same provincial side in South Africa. Apart from their appearance and familial heritage, they did have something else in common. Their initials were DJS and MNS, and what did the S stand for? Somerset! It was surely destiny that took Derek to Taunton, but I'm not sure what went wrong in Mike's case!
Neither Taylor twin was given the opportunity of representing their country, as the Bedsers had done many years earlier. In more recent times, James and Hamish Marshall have played for New Zealand many times, occasionally in the same side. With distinctive red frizzy curls, they will always stand out on the pitch. Hamish is now trying to recover some form with Gloucestershire after a mediocre 2011 and almost being released this summer, but he's too good a player not to persevere. It's six years since his last Test match, when Steyn and Ntini wrecked the Black Caps at Centurion, and five since his final ODI in the World Cup against Ireland.
However, the most famous international cricketing twins must be Steve and Mark Waugh, albeit not identical. The former may have forged the most successful career in terms of runs and as a brilliant captain of one of the greatest Australian sides since the 1940s, but Mark was the more elegant strokemaker of the two. I witnessed some attractive innings for Essex two decades ago but he had a few difficult patches, notably four consecutive ducks against Sri Lanka. His Test average of 42 doesn't match his talent at the top level, although he had a better record than his brother in one-dayers. Steve also had a brief dalliance with county cricket. Where else would a twin choose to ply his trade but Somerset. Of course!
