The emergence of T20 cricket has played a major role in the introduction of several franchise league tournaments around the world and has helped young players showcase their talents in front of a larger audience. One such player is Tom Banton, who grabbed headlines in 2019 with his batting exploits in England’s T20 Blast. He was the season’s second highest run-scorer for Somerset with 549 runs in 13 matches. In the same year, he scored 454 runs in 11 matches during the Royal One Day Cup.
His sensational form with Somerset helped him get a contract for the Brisbane Heat in Big Bash League 9, where he scored 223 runs at an impressive strike rate of 176.98, including a 19-ball fifty. In 2019 he made his international debut against New Zealand and was touted as the next big thing in English cricket. However, things didn’t turn out as expected for the youngster as he failed to cement his place in the team.
in exclusive interview with News18 Cricket NextDuring the initial phase of his career, Banton compared himself with the likes of Jos Buttler and Kevin Pietersen which put some extra pressure on him. The 24-year-old admitted with some honesty how the sudden transition from Somerset’s second team to playing in England was intimidating for him.
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“Yeah, I think it did (did the comparisons with Butler and Pietersen put pressure on him). Obviously, I’m not going to hide behind that. Obviously, going and playing in different leagues around the world like the IPL, obviously playing for England against all kinds of big international teams, that was quite intimidating at the age of 20-21. i went from playing another team Cricket Somerset to play in all these things within the year,” Banton told News18 Cricket Next,
The young wicket-keeper batsman said that the tough phase helped him grow as a cricketer.
“It was obviously a big step forward and I’ve learned a lot about myself through that time and hopefully over the last two years where I haven’t been as consistent as I’d like to be I’ve been and now I can And really look forward, and don’t really think about that time. Well, I’m glad it happened because I’ve obviously learned a lot about my game and I’ve learned a lot about myself as a cricketer as well as a person. How I want to be.”
Banton was in contention for a place in England’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad but a finger injury pushed him down the pecking order as he eventually missed out on a spot.
Talking about that tough phase, Banton said missing out was harrowing but not worried as he is focused on scoring runs to regain his place in the England team.
“I think it’s just part and parcel of the game to be honest. I haven’t had too many injuries, touch wood so it’s probably one of the main injuries I’ve had and yeah obviously it’s sore Yes, I am looking forward to play but I am not worried too much about it. I think if you do well and you play the way they want to play, things will take care of themselves in England. Then, if you improve performance, things will sort themselves out. I don’t really want to think about that stuff at the moment. So just try and focus on where I am at the moment “
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After winning the 2022 T20 World Cup, England will now turn their attention to the ODI World Cup, which India later this year.
Banton, who is currently playing in the inaugural season of the ILT20, said he is not thinking much about a return to the England team as his primary focus is to do well for the Gulf Giants in the UAE.
“Look, I don’t want to think too much about England’s aspirations, obviously. I think everyone’s aiming to play in this and hopefully I can try and get back in that group, but at the moment I’m Not even thinking about England. I’m just trying to focus on here and working really closely with Andy Flower now, who’s been amazing and has brought my game back to where it was. I wish this was a few years ago.” ,
Asked whether England’s ‘badge-ball’ approach in Tests suited a player like him who wanted to play attacking cricket, Banton suggested the red-ball format was a different challenge, but with the right mindset It’s definitely nice to play. Be helpful.
“I think people will joke with me about it, but I haven’t thought much about it. I think first of all, obviously, red ball cricket is going to happen in April and looks like, look, Tests The wickets are probably a bit different for cricket, so it’s probably going to be a bit tougher to do, but as long as you have the form, the right mindset, I think it’s going to help me obviously. If I do well, So I will get it, I don’t even think about such things. I just try and focus on the here and now,” he said.
Banton recently went unsold in the 2023 IPL auction in December but the Englishman believes that he has been a bit inconsistent with the bat in recent times which was the reason behind it.
The 24-year-old said that he would be available if any franchise wanted to sign him as a replacement player in case of any injury ahead of or during the upcoming IPL.
“I think I probably haven’t done well coming into the IPL, so, it’s not something I’m upset or angry about. It’s something I’ll just have to crack with. Look, I did it when I was 21 and it was amazing. And now I’m just trying to focus on being the best I can be and hopefully getting back to performing.”
“Yeah, definitely (on his availability as a replacement player in IPL). I would love to go back and do it. I haven’t done it in India and I’ve heard great things about all the travel and all the crowds and obviously etc. You know how it works. I did it in Dubai (UAE), so it was a lockdown, it was a bubble, so it would be completely different.”
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