Tom Banton’s season will start later following injury setback

Somerset and England batter Tom Banton faces up to a month on the sidelines after breaking his finger.

Banton remains a relatively new figure on the international scene having played 14 T20 and six one-day internationals since he burst on to the scene with a prolific 2019 season.

The Somerset opener made his England debut in November of that year, and was included on the most recent tour of the West Indies this winter, where he played five times, scoring one half-century.

However, he now faces a spell on the sidelines after a sustaining a broken finger in a warm up game.

“I’ve just broken my finger so I’ll be out for a month,” Banton told the PA news agency.

“Pre-season on the second day in the slips I dived to my left and I dropped it (the ball). I’ve had a few X-rays and it’s fractured so I’ve just seen a specialist and they’re advising a few weeks off because if I do it again I might need an operation.

“This is my second finger I’ve done, so (it’s) not ideal.”

The LV= Insurance County Championship starts on Thursday and Banton was left disappointed after targeting an improvement in long format cricket over the winter.

“Being realistic, my red ball is probably not where it needs to be (but) I feel like it’s definitely improving,” he said.

“I feel like I’ve come back as a new player this year. I’ve worked on a few things in the winter technically and a lot of things have changed, which I’ve seen the rewards (of) through pre-season.

“So hopefully I can take that into when I’m back playing.”

The England youngster was retained by Welsh Fire in an announcement earlier today, with Banton going at the highest price point of £125,000.

He will be joined in Cardiff by Joe Clarke, who was the first pick, while Australian spinner