English Cricket Player Tom Banton burst into the England domestic scene in 2017. A dynamic wicket-keeper batsman he is an unorthodox batsman with the bat and lightning-quick behind the sticks. He has also been touted as a potential successor to Jos Buttler. A rising star, Banton’s chops of steel was explicitly obvious to all those who saw him play – he landed a contract at Somerset for the T20 blast in the 2017-18 season and has been a regular for his county ever since. He also had a successful stint with Somerset in the 2019 domestic season and that caught the selector’s eye which helped him play in various leagues around the world. This was also the year that he made his international debut for the England cricket team. Even in 2021, the man is still just 22 years old and early in his career so if he is groomed well, there’s no denying that Banton will be England’s next superstar.
Tom Banton: Bio, Childhood and 10 Cool Facts
1. Quick Facts:
- Full name Tom Banton
- Born November 11, 1998, Chiltern, Buckinghamshire
- Current age 22 years 96 days
- Major teams England, Brisbane Heat, Dubai Qalandars,England Under-19s, England Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders,Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Somerset,Somerset 2nd XI, Team Moeen, Team Morgan,Warwickshire 2nd XI, Warwickshire Under-13s,Warwickshire Under-14s, Warwickshire Under-15s,Warwickshire Under-17s
- Playing role Opening batsman
- Batting style Right-hand bat
- Fielding position Wicketkeeper
- Relation Father – C Banton, Brother – J Banton
2. Tom was born on November 11, 1998 in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire:
Tom Banton is the son of South African-born English cricketer Colin Banton.
Not only does cricket run in his blood, but Tom Banton was also a member of the academy at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, studying his secondary education at Bromsgrove School.
Tom Banton’s father Colin Banton relocated to Bromsgrove along with Tom where along with his studies, he continued to play cricket as well. For his higher education, Tom Banton studied at the King’s College in Taunton where he played multiple sports.
3. Tom Banton’s early career:
Transferring to King’s College, Taunton to study for his BTEC, Banton impressed his house master Phil Lewis who’s guidance was crucial to this future star. Banton wanted to focus on cricket over multi-sports even though he was talented enough to play hockey as a centre forward for England under 17 team.
During his games for King’s College against Somerset Academy in a Southwest Youth League match, Tom was put to the test by academy director Steve Snell in a second XI game against Middlesex, and signed a contract for the Somerset Academy the following week. The future star also represented England at the U-17 level and played domestic cricket for England in 2017.
Finally when few senior players opted for a break he got the opportunity and was drafted in the England squad when they toured New Zealand in November 2019. He is already in line to become one of England’s next superstars.
4. Tom Banton’s style of playing:
Tom Banton was the breakout player of the 2019 domestic season as his showy stroke-making at the top of the Somerset order thrust him into England’s T20 squad and drew attention from franchises on a global scale.
A tall, inventive player Tom has mostly drawn regular comparisons with Kevin Pietersen and Jos Buttler. Then comes his most eye-catching shots that are hockey-inspired reverse-slaps and scoops which are full-on even though Tom is equally adept at driving straight down the ground and hitting through midwicket.
Whilst at Somerset, he became a prolific run maker and an excellent wicket-keeper. He also had an unorthodox yet effective batting style which helped him get noticed by the national selectors during the 2019 T-20 blast competition.
5. Tom Banton’s right-handed batsman played for England in six ODIs and nine T20Is:
In December 2017, Tom Banton’s name was added in England’s squad for the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In September 2019, Tom Banton made his way to England’s Twenty20 International (T20I) team for their matches against New Zealand.
6. Tom Banton got his T20I debut against New Zealand in November 2019:
Tom Banton premiered his T20I debut for England battling it out against New Zealand, on 5 November 2019. In December, Banton’s name was added in England’s One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against South Africa. This means that he made his ODI debut on 4 February 2020, for England against South Africa.
7. Tom Banton scored 71 against Pakistan is Banton’s highest score in T20Is:
The English batsman pocketed 549 runs in the T20 Blast at an average of 42.23 and a ferocious strike rate of 161.43 in 2019 T-20 Blast.
8. Tom Banton made his ODI debut against South Africa in February 2020:
In December 2017, Tom Banton was named to England’s squad for the 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In September 2019, Tom Banton made his way to England’s Twenty20 International (T20I) team for their match against New Zealand.
The young 20-year-old premiered his T20I debut for England, against New Zealand, on 5 November 2019. By December, Banton was named in England’s One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against South Africa.
Tom Banton premiered his ODI debut on 4 February 2020, for England against South Africa.
On 29 May 2020, the English cricketer was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9 July 2020, the then 21-year-old was included in England’s 24-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the ODI series against Ireland. On 27 July 2020, the 21-year-old was named to England’s squad for the ODI series.
9. KKR purchased Tom Banton for INR 1 crore (140,095US dollars), his base price, at the players auction:
20 year old Tom was signed by Brisbane Heat in the Australian Big Bash League for the 2019/20 season. By the end of the 2019 year, Tom was drafted by Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise team Peshawar Zalmi as their Diamond Category pick at the 2020 PSL draft.
By the December 2020 IPL auction, Tom was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2020 Indian Premier League.
The English batsman was set to play for the Brisbane Heat in the 2020–21 Big Bash League, but pulled out of the tournament on 5 December 2020.
10. Apart from his batting, Tom Banton is also known to keep wickets:
Tom is a wicket-keeper-batsman or wicket-keeper-batter which means he is the type of player who fields primarily as a wicket-keeper and is particularly adept as a batter.
