Adelaide, Nov 15 (IANS) England wicketkeeper-batter Tom Banton hopes that he has secured his position at the top of the order in England’s ODI side after having smashed a match-winning hundred during the second ODI against Australia at the Adelaide Oval here on Sunday.
Banton hit 121 off 99 balls with 12 fours and four sixes as he laid the platform for England to put up their highest ODI total of 355/6 in Australia. The batter was also adjudged Player of the Match for his performance in England’s 135-run win as they have levelled the series 1-1.
“I’d like to think so,” Banton told BBC Test Match Special, when asked if the spot was his to keep. “Cricket’s a funny old game. It can change very quickly. So I’m just taking each game as it comes now and just trying to score as many runs as I can.”
Banton is the fourth man this year who has opened with regular opener Ben Duckett. He was roped in to open against Sri Lanka earlier in September and has made 540 runs in nine innings while opening and has two centuries.
The opportunity came through Jacob Bethell’s knee injury, who was originally given the rope to open during the home ODI series against India in July. He scored 91 in the third game and seemingly secured a long-term berth. However, he has not played since.
Bethell was due to return in Pakistan, but as he arrived in Australia after ligament surgery, he picked up another issue in his recovery, which delayed whether he will return in place of Banton.
Banton has played three seasons for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League; however, he said that this was his first visit to Adelaide as he reflected on his knock after the game.
“It’s my first time in Adelaide. I’ve watched a lot of cricket in Australia over the years, the Ashes, white-ball series. So, to come here today is a pretty special feeling.
“50-over cricket is hard. Sometimes you get off to a flyer, and then you’ve got to rein it back in. And vice versa. So I think it’s just picking moments and match-ups. The square boundaries here are a bit smaller than normal. So that was kind of my game plan: anything into the wicket, try and take that on,” Baton told broadcasters after the match.
–IANS
vm/hs
