ENGLAND captain Joe Root has praised Somerset seamer Craig Overton for "putting his hand up to be selected" ahead of the final Ashes warm-up match, which begins at midnight this evening (Tuesday).

Quoted in The Guardian prior to the four-day match against a Cricket Australia XI in Townsville, Root said: “Craig [Overton]’s been brilliant.

“He’s come in on this tour, thrown himself into every game and every opportunity whenever he has got the ball.

"He’s stood up and put his hand up to be selected, and that’s what you want.

"All the guys who haven’t played before have shown a lot of promise, and gone about things the right way in practice and in the games too.”

Overton is to bat at nine and make up the seam attack along with Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes in Townsville, with James Anderson rested due to feeling unwell.

Surrey's uncapped seamer Tom Curran, yet to play since arriving as a replacement for Steven Finn, and Nottinghamshire's Jake Ball, who picked up a knock in the last warm-up match, now look to be behind Overton in the pecking order going into the first Test in Brisbane on November 23.

The Somerset man particularly impressed in the second innings of the emphatic victory over a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide, taking 3-15 from 11 overs, and will also be looking to show what he can do with the bat having registered a pair last week.

If selected, Overton would be the first Somerset player to represent England in an Ashes series since Marcus Trescothick in 2005.