England prospect Tom Banton hopes improved glovework can boost his credentials

Tom Banton is eager to expand England’s wicketkeeper-batter talent pool even further as he wants to put more emphasis on his work behind the stumps and emulate Jos Buttler in the white-ball set-up.

With Sam Billings omitted after a hectic past couple of weeks that saw him switch continents and formats, Banton took the gloves for the first time for England in a 20-run defeat to the West Indies in the third Twenty20.

He went largely unnoticed as the Windies piled up 224 for five for their highest T20 score against England, but his biggest contribution came when thumping six sixes in a 39-ball 73 as the tourists fell short in Barbados.

Even though England are well stocked for keeping options, with Billings and Phil Salt in the squad and Buttler and Jonny Bairstow resting back home, Banton is enthusiastic about supplementing his batting in limited-overs cricket.

He said: “Keeping wicket is very important to me but it’s probably not been my number one priority if I’m being brutally honest.

“I’ve always focused on my batting and now I’ve got to a point this year where I’ve realised that it’s something that I can really try and work on and get better on because I’ve not done too much work on it in the past.

“But I think for red-ball, probably a little bit too much of a toll on my back. After a few days in the field, I’ll probably be a bit sore. But, yeah, I really want to work on it.”

Banton counts World Cup-winning Buttler among his role models and the similarities between the pair are obvious, having come through the same set-up at Somerset while they are both renowned for their clean and powerful striking.

5⃣0⃣ off just 2⃣9⃣ for Bants!

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