Craig Overton, Sophie Luff land top honours at PCA Awards

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Craig Overton, Sophie Luff land top honours at PCA Awards | ACTPnews

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September 30, 2026

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Craig Overton, Sophie Luff land top honours at PCA Awards

Somerset pair Craig Overton and Sophie Luff have been voted men’s and women’s player of the year respectively by their peers at the annual Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) awards. Sonny Baker, another product of the club’s academy, was voted men’s young player of the year, while Surrey’s Tilly Corteen-Coleman was the women’s young player of the year.

“It’s a phenomenal feeling,” Overton said. “My bowling ticked along and, after I scored that hundred at Essex in the second game of the season, my form with the bat carried on throughout the summer. The quarter-final against Yorkshire was where I felt like ‘this year is the one where everything’s going my way’ and everything clicked.”

While his twin brother Jamie has become an England regular in white-ball cricket, Overton has not played international cricket since 2022. He told Cricinfo in August that he felt “close” to a recall, following Ben Stokes’s retirement, but was overlooked for their Test series against Pakistan.

Luff, Somerset’s captain, enjoyed a prolific summer after moving up the order to open the batting. She was the club’s leading run-scorer in both the T20 Blast and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, and was an ever-present for the Rockets as they won the women’s Hundred for the first time. She is the first uncapped winner of the women’s award since Eve Jones in 2021.

“It’s super special [that] people have voted for me after the performances and impact they feel I’ve had this year,” Luff said. “I’ve always been a leader that wants to lead from the front… I’ve had a new role at Somerset opening the batting and it’s safe to say it’s gone pretty well and I’ve probably unlocked something to bring the best out of me as a player.”

“I’m absolutely delighted,” Baker said. “I’ve been really thankful for so many opportunities this year, including Finals Day and the number of games I have played for England. I’ve loved it. My Test debut was something I’ve been dreaming about since I started cricket at 11 years old… It’s hard to put 2026 into words. I’m over the moon.”

Corteen-Coleman, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner, won her England debuts in both ODI and T20I cricket this summer, and was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the Hundred. She has set a target to complete the set by winning her Test cap at Headingley in next summer’s Ashes series.

“It’s obviously a huge privilege to win the award, and off the back of an incredible season, I couldn’t have been more excited about it,” she said. “It’s obviously a huge year next year for English cricket in 2027, so I’d love to be involved in as much as possible. There’s a red-ball camp, and I still haven’t made my Test debut, so that would be a great opportunity.”

Heather Knight, who retired from international cricket this summer and was previously PCA vice-chair, won the PCA outstanding contribution award, while her former team-mate Tammy Beaumont won the ECB’s special merit award. Players received their awards – which are sponsored by Toyota – at the PCA’s annual dinner in west London on Wednesday night.

“Celebrating our dedicated, hard-working and inspiring players is always a privilege at the most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket,” Daryl Mitchell, the PCA’s chief executive said. “The PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota allows us to finish the year on a high and congratulate all our winners but especially those four main accolades.”

PCA Awards 2026 in partnership with Toyota:

Men’s player of the year: Craig Overton (Shortlisted: Joe Clarke, George Hill, Dan Lawrence)
Women’s player of the year: Sophie Luff (Shortlisted: Maia Bouchier, Sophia Dunkley, Mady Villiers)
Men’s young player of the year: Sonny Baker (Shortlisted: Charlie Allison, Naavya Sharma)
Women’s young player of the year: Tilly Corteen-Coleman (Shortlisted: Jodi Grewcock, Charley Phillips)
Outstanding Contribution award: Heather Knight
ECB Special Merit: Tammy Beaumont
Umpire of the year: Ian Blackwell (men’s) and Gabi Brown (women’s)

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