Brisbane Heat signing Tom Banton has potential to be one of SuperCoach stars of 2019-20
He is the reigning England Young Cricketer of the Year — an award previously won by Ben Stokes and Joe Root — and he’s coming to our shores for the Big Bash.
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Hailed as the future of English cricket, Tom Banton’s career has exploded at the same rate of acceleration he displays with bat in hand.
The 20-year-old top-order batsman has signed with Brisbane Heat for its opening eight matches of BBL09 and will arrive in Australia with a reputation which has soared in the past 12 months.
A former England under-19 captain, Banton has been compared to Kevin Pietersen and Alex Hales, who recently signed for Sydney Thunder.
Banton was crowned the CWC Young Player of the Year in October, joining English captain Joe Root, all-rounder Ben Stokes, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow and paceman Stuart Broad as winners of the award.
Banton plundered 549 runs at 42.2 in England’s T20 Vitality Blast this year, finishing behind only Pakistan’s Babar Azam on the run scoring chart.
In SuperCoach BBL, batsmen score one point for every run, one point for every run above the number of balls faced (strike rate bonus), two points for a six and one for every four.
If Banton can replicate his Vitality Blast averages during eight BBL innings, his numbers would equate to: 14 sixes (28 points), 41 fours (41 points) and 338 run points.
He would also collect 129 points for strike rate bonus — an average of 67 points per game.
That average would have ranked Banton 12th of all players in SuperCoach for BBL08 and No. 1 of those listed solely as batsmen.
Banton’s starting price will ultimately decide whether he’s worth the punt in your SuperCoach BBL team.
After all, English batsmen who have flourished in their home T20 competition have failed to translate that form to the BBL in previous tournaments.
English Test batsman Joe Denly compiled 409 runs at 37.2 and snared 20 wickets in last year’s Vitality Blast and loomed as a shrewd SuperCoach selection at $186,800.
However, Denly failed to fire for Sydney Sixers, battling to 137 runs at 22.8, taking only one wicket and averaging 37.1 points to plummet in price by $60,800.
The best signing of the Big Bash so far ... @HeatBBL have a superstar in the making in @TomBanton18 ... Already my No1 pick in @SuperCoachBBL with all the other overseas players @FoxCricket !!! #BigBash
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 9, 2019
His comparison in the English press to Hales should be of interest to SuperCoaches.
Hales has played for Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes in previous editions of the BBL, but only posted one fifty from 14 innings.
In those knocks, he has been out for single figures five times.
It would be unfair to rule Banton out of calculations for your SuperCoach BBL side based solely on comparisons, although it is worth being wary.
If he lives up to the hype, Banton could be one of the summer’s great performers.
Should he flourish for eight games, he will hopefully make enough profit to be a straight swap to AB De Villiers ahead of Round 9.
SUPERCOACH BBL LAUNCHES ON OCTOBER 30!
WHAT THEY SAID
Darren Lehmann, Brisbane Heat coach
“He was the talk of English cricket during their season. Outside the Ashes, Tom was the player that a lot of people were really excited to be watching, and with good reason.”
Tom Banton, Brisbane Heat opener
“If you had asked me at the start of the summer would I imagine it going like this, I would have probably had a laugh.”
VERDICT: YES, BUT ONLY AT THE RIGHT PRICE
Originally published as Brisbane Heat signing Tom Banton has potential to be one of SuperCoach stars of 2019-20