In an effort to secure a spot in England’s 50-over squad ahead of the World Cup next year, Tom Banton has no regrets about delaying his red-ball career. Banton’s greatest first-class score of 371 for Somerset less than 18 months ago raised hopes that he may be an all-format England batsman, but in June he signed a white-ball-only contract with the county.
Less than eighteen months ago, after reaching 371 in a first-class match—the greatest individual score in the county’s history—the Somerset batter had become a promising all-format performer. But after considering the demands of both franchise leagues and international cricket, he decided to sign a white-ball-only contract with Somerset in June.
Banton felt something had to give after making a comeback to the England T20 and one-day international teams under close friend Harry Brook. He was also keen to investigate the different franchise prospects. Independent quotes Banton saying, “With the schedule, if you’re playing county cricket in the English summer and there’s franchise stuff and playing for England, there’s not really ever a break. When I was at the Indian Premier League (this year), I decided to give red-ball cricket a break for a while. I’d been thinking about it for a while and it’s having the confidence to actually do it.”
He added, “I’m happy I’ve done it and it’s nice to try to be the best white-ball player I can be. I’m not saying no to red-ball cricket, if it happens at the right time for me to come back and play then we’ll see. I’m just trying to play as many games as I can for England and take up franchise opportunities. I’ll be very honest, your career doesn’t last forever and I want to try and make the most of that.”
He concluded, I’ve also found it’s important to have your breaks as well, come back refreshed and get that training block in. With the amount of cricket you play, I found it hard to actually train and improve as a batter.”
After losing to Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, England is under pressure to guaranty a spot in the tri-series final on Saturday. Sri Lanka stunned Brook’s team with the second-highest successful run chase in ODI history, giving England little opportunity to make more errors. England’s batting unit, including Banton, will need to play better as the tournament approaches a pivotal point in order to maintain their chances of making it to the final.
