Finisher Banton is back where he started as career comes full-circle

When Tom Banton made his international debut in New Zealand shortly before his 21st birthday, he was widely considered to be England's next white-ball superstar. A breakthrough season opening the batting for Somerset had earned him comparisons with Kevin Pietersen, and he was soon snapped up by Brendon McCullum's Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction.

Six years on, Banton is back in New Zealand at a very different stage of his career. It would have been hard to believe in 2019 that he would only have played 28 times for England by now, but his story is a valuable reminder of how rare it is for any athlete to reach the top at such a young age and stay there consistently.

Instead, Banton's sharp rise was quickly followed by a steep decline. He had thrived on flat pitches with small boundaries in county cricket and was soon worked out by international-level bowlers. The franchise circuit is a lonely place for an out-of-form player at the best of times, let alone during the Covid pandemic, and he soon fell out of love with cricket altogether.

He was not helped by a lack of grounding in red-ball cricket, and has admitted that he did not train as hard as he could have done. It took countless hours of hard work to gradually rebuild his confidence, but it gradually started to click again to the extent that he won an England recall earlier this year as the spare batter for their doomed Champions Trophy campaign.

Banton has since been one of five ever-presents in England's T20I side since the start of the summer, albeit recast in an unfamiliar role as a finisher. It has meant playing alongside his old Under-19s team-mates Harry Brook and Will Jacks in the middle order, and this week's series in New Zealand is a chance to secure his spot ahead of next year's World Cup.

Understandably, he is fed up with being asked about his fallow period. "It was a long time ago, and I think everyone goes through it," Banton told ESPNcricinfo before flying out. "Look, it's been great for me. I probably wouldn't be where I am right now [without it], but it's been just one of those things… I came onto the scene at such a young age, and then just matured a little bit."

Banton had a curious home summer, interrupted by his international call-ups: he made a club-record 371 against Worcestershire in April, but 298 runs in his other 16 Championship innings, and contributed to Somerset winning the T20 Blast and Trent Rockets reaching the Hundred final despite relatively modest contributions himself.

But his immediate focus is to nail down his role in England's middle order, with his early experiences highlighting the challenges of T20's most volatile position. Banton has only faced 53 balls across seven matches since his recall, and his two match-winning innings were played at wildly different tempos.

Against West Indies in June, he took down Gudakesh Motie's left-arm spin in his 11-ball 30, walking off unbeaten in a four-wicket win. Three months later, his 37 not out off 26 balls stabilised a controlled England chase against Ireland in Malahide; for the first time in his international career, he hit the winning run.

"It is different," Banton said. "It's about getting used to it, and different ideas: speaking to other guys that do it more often… In that West Indies game, my first thought was 'I'm going to take my match-up down' and luckily, it came off. It's just small moments like that: if a bowler comes on that you want to take down, you've got to really back yourself to do it."

He will have the opportunity to learn from one of T20 cricket's greatest-ever finishers in December, when he works alongside Kieron Pollard at MI Emirates. "He's a little bit different to me - a bit bigger - so it's a bit easier for him," Banton said, laughing. "It'll be great to learn from him, and from [Nicholas] Pooran as well."

England do have alternatives outside of the squad who could play similar roles: Jacks is absent through injury, handing Jordan Cox a chance, while Jamie Smith has been rested and Liam Livingstone could yet come back into contention. Jacob Bethell could also shift back down the order if Ben Duckett returns to the T20 side, after his recent promotion to No. 3.

But Banton will have the chance to cement his spot in New Zealand, and believes that his recent improvement leaves him well equipped to cope with the demands of the middle order: "That's what I think I've been moved down for, my playing against spin. I've just got to try to stick to what I've done to get myself there, and hopefully, it carries on."

Either way, the series marks a full-circle moment for a player who appears much readier for the challenges of international cricket than when he first burst onto the scene.