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Tom Banton has faced difficulties since he returned to the England shirt, but the batter is keen to make up for lost time, beginning at the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy.
After a breakout summer that resulted in Big Bash and IPL deals and similarities to players like Kevin Pietersen, the 26-year-old earned his international debut six days shy of his 20th birthday in 2019.
After a period of decline, he has regained his position at the top, which he credits to “keeping his head down.” He is in excellent form when he arrives in Pakistan.
In the previous ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates, the 26-year-old amassed 493 runs at an average of 54.77, including three fifties and two hundreds, to continue his stellar play in short-form competitions until 2024.
Brendon McCullum, the new England white-ball coach who trained Banton while coaching the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2020, was re-interested in him after seeing those figures.
And Tom Banton was the clear choice to start for England in the 15-man squad after Jacob Bethell’s hamstring injury forced him to miss the upcoming Champions Trophy.
“Being in and around all the boys again is obviously very special,” he remarked.
“Re-wearing an England shirt is such a unique experience. Although it was something I had overlooked, I didn’t give it much thought.
“I just tried to do as well as I could, keeping my head down and staying in my lane.” I’m eager for the tournament to begin since it’s such a unique sensation.
In order to end his five-year absence from the ODI arena and make his first England appearance since 2022, Banton rejoined the England team ahead of their third ODI match against India. He batted at number three and shared the highest score of 38, clearing the rope twice.
When asked about his current form, Banton joked that he “doesn’t want to speak too soon” because he is the one who knows the fastest that things can change in cricket.
Instead, he wants to enjoy playing the game he lost interest in a few years ago and take everything in stride.
Even though it was a challenging time, it ultimately benefited him.
You don’t want it to happen to anyone, but I suppose that’s just a fact of life,” he remarked. Both through and outside of cricket, I’ve discovered a lot about myself.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself; cricket can be like that occasionally. I just had a poor run of form. However, it has improved my situation and given me a deeper comprehension of both cricket and life.
“Obviously, playing for England always comes with pressure. The best thing you can do is to play for your nation.
However, I don’t want to overburden myself because I haven’t really done anything in the past year or so. Right now, I think I have a little better grasp of my game. All I want to do is have fun and try to help the squad.
Tom Banton wants England, who have been to the game’s semifinals twice, to win the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 on March 9. It would be the first time the championship has been held since 2017.
He went on, “We won’t get ahead of ourselves too much.” “We’ll simply enjoy training, enjoy our time off, and take each game as it comes.
“I hope we can get out and do some cool things while we’re here because Pakistan is a great place.”
Tom Banton may use the competition as a launching pad to secure his spot in England’s white-ball teams more permanently, and his performance in the County Championship for Somerset has even sparked speculation about a potential Test call-up.
The towering right-hander, however, is only concerned with playing his part for the team and is confident that if he keeps up his good play, the others will take care of themselves.
He declared, “I won’t go too far ahead and get caught up with all that.”
“I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing, and hopefully everything will work itself out.” Even though I would really like to play and perform well, I will still make an effort to study as much as I can.
Following remarks in the media about a purported lack of practice in the recent 3-0 ODI series loss in India, the England team arrived in Pakistan on Monday night before of their debut match against Australia. They will have three training sessions before the match at Gaddafi Stadium.
“There’s a delicate balance between too much training and not enough,” Tom Banton stated. Taking some time to relax is also crucial.
“Practicing constantly isn’t necessarily the solution while playing a lot of cricket.
“There will be time to practice because we have three days before our first game and a few days in between [future] games.”
It will also be McCullum’s first time captaining England in a limited-overs competition.
The 43-year-old New Zealander is “one of the greatest players to have ever played the game,” according to Banton, who expressed his delight at collaborating with him once more.
“To be able to talk to him is very special,” he continued. Being back with him is really amazing since I worked with him in the IPL a few years ago, and it was incredible. It’s quite unbelievable.
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