Thomas Banton, born on 11 November 1998 in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, England, is an English professional cricketer known for his aggressive right-handed batting and occasional wicketkeeping.

He plays primarily for Somerset in domestic cricket and has represented England in One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals since making his international debut in 2019.

Coming from a sporting family, Banton developed his skills through early training in the family garden alongside his brother, combined with hockey in the winters to build wrist and forearm strength.

He attended Bromsgrove School and later King’s College in Taunton, where he refined his game before joining the Somerset setup.

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    Siblings

    Tom has one known sibling, his younger brother Jacques Banton, born on 6 July 2001 in Perpignan, France, during a period when the family lived there while their father ran a wine business.

    Jacques is an all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox spin.

    Like his brother, he attended Bromsgrove School and King’s College, Taunton, and began in the Warwickshire academy before moving to Worcestershire.

    He signed a rookie contract with Worcestershire in 2021, making his List A debut that year and his Twenty20 debut in 2022.

    Jacques has spoken about drawing inspiration from Tom’s explosive batting while seeking to establish his own identity beyond being known as Tom’s brother.

    Career

    Banton made his Twenty20 debut for Somerset in the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast and his first-class debut in the 2018 County Championship.

    His breakthrough came in 2019, when he became a regular across formats, scoring two centuries in Somerset’s successful Royal London One-Day Cup campaign and a maiden T20 century against Kent in the Vitality Blast.

    That form earned him an England call-up.

    He debuted in T20Is against New Zealand on 5 November 2019 and in ODIs against South Africa on 4 February 2020.

    After an initial rise that included franchise deals with Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, his form fluctuated and he experienced periods away from the international side.

    He later featured for teams including Quetta Gladiators, Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, Colombo Stars, Dubai Capitals, Fortune Barishal, Trent Rockets, MI Emirates, and Gujarat Titans.

    In domestic red-ball cricket he evolved into a more consistent middle-order player, highlighted by a club-record 371 for Somerset against Worcestershire in the 2025 County Championship, the highest individual first-class score by a Somerset player.

    He has continued to feature in England white-ball squads into 2025 and 2026, often used in middle-order or finishing roles, while remaining a key figure for Somerset in limited-overs cricket.

    Accolades

    Banton was named the Professional Cricketers’ Association Young Player of the Year at the 50th NatWest PCA Awards in 2019 and also received the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year award that same year for his standout domestic performances.

    He contributed significantly to Somerset’s One-Day Cup success in 2019 and their T20 Blast triumphs in later seasons, including a title-winning campaign.

    His 371 against Worcestershire in 2025 set a new Somerset first-class record.

    In franchise cricket he became the first batter to score two centuries in the International League T20 and shared a record 198-run partnership for any wicket in T20s on UAE soil.