Oliver Peter Stone (born 9 October 1993) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Nottinghamshire and England. Stone is a right-arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman. He was born in Norwich, Norfolk and was educated at Thorpe St Andrew School. He made his international debut for England in October 2018. Known as one of the fastest bowlers in England, Stone has recorded speeds up to 94 mph (151 km/h)
Early in the 2016 season he suffered a serious knee injury while celebrating the wicket of Moeen Ali, which caused him to miss the rest of the season.[10] Nonetheless, in July he signed a three-year contract to play for Warwickshire.[11]
In April 2022, he was bought by the Birmingham Phoenix for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[12]
In July 2022 he agreed to join Nottinghamshire on a three-year deal at the end of 2022 season.
International career
Stone, alongside fellow Northants youngster Ben Duckett, was called up to the England Under-19 squad for their tour to South Africa in 2013 on the back of his performances for Northants in the second half of the 2012 season.[13] During the tour he registered England Under-19's best ever bowling figures in youth Tests to date, taking 11–79.[14]
In September 2018, he was named in England's Test and One Day International (ODI) squads for the series against Sri Lanka.[15][16] He made his ODI debut for England against Sri Lanka on 10 October 2018,[17] though the game was washed out after 15 overs before he had a chance to bat or bowl.[18] In December 2018, Stone was named in England's Test squad for the series against the West Indies.[19] However, ahead of the first Test, he was ruled out of the tour with a back injury.[20] His county side, Warwickshire, later confirmed he had a stress fracture in his lower back, which would take six to twelve weeks to heal.[21]
In July 2019, Stone was named in England's Test squad, for their one-off match against Ireland at Lord's.[22] He made his Test debut for England, against Ireland, at Lord's on 24 July 2019.[23]
On 29 May 2020, Stone was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[24][25] On 17 June 2020, Stone was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.[26][27] On 4 July 2020, Stone was named as one of the nine reserve players for the first Test match of the series.[28][29]
In 2021, Stone was part of the England Men's Test Squad for their tour of Sri Lanka[30] and India.[31] He was named in a 12-man squad for the second Test in India and was confirmed in the side at the toss ahead of Chris Woakes.[32] Stone took the first wicket of this Test, getting Shubman Gill out lbw with his third delivery.[33]
In September 2022, he was named in the England's T20I squad for the series against Pakistan.[34] He made his T20I debut on 25 September 2022, against Pakistan.[35]