Tom Banton waited six years and 53 white-ball caps for this. At The Oval on Sunday, in a series decider England could not afford to lose, the Somerset batter struck 126 from 105 balls — 16 fours, five sixes — to underpin a total of 355-7 and a 223-run demolition of Sri Lanka that sealed the Metro Bank ODI series 2-1.
It was his first century in an England shirt in any format, and it arrived in the only match of the summer where the margin for error had disappeared. Sri Lanka, chasing 356, were dismissed for 132 with more than 20 overs unused.
An innings that changed the match in an hour
England were 68-2 and unsettled when Banton found his range. He scored 70 of England’s first 108 runs, outpacing more established team-mates, and then shared 150 for the third wicket with captain Harry Brook, who made 77 after being dropped on seven. Banton’s innings ended only when he holed out to long-on off Colombage, by which point the platform was unassailable.
Jordan Cox, deputising for the injured Jos Buttler in only his second ODI appearance in two years, then hit 76 from 52 balls to convert a strong position into an unreachable one.
Sri Lanka’s reply disintegrated almost immediately. Sonny Baker removed opener Pathum Nissanka to claim his maiden ODI wicket, and the tourists slid from 36-1 to 82-6 inside 10 overs. Liam Dawson took three, Gus Atkinson 2-26, and six of England’s seven bowlers struck at least once.
“I thought that was a near-perfect performance,” Brook said. “Everyone chipped in and it was an exceptional win.” Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis was blunter: “We struggled with the batting and then we made some mistakes in the field, including me. We made too many mistakes.”
Six years of unconverted promise
Banton arrived in international cricket in November 2019 as one of England’s most-hyped young strokemakers, a T20 specialist handed a debut at 20. The ODI cap followed in February 2020 against South Africa. What did not follow was output. Before this series his highest ODI score was 58, across seven appearances, and his last 50-over international had come against India in February 2025 — a gap of more than 19 months before his recall.
That is the context that makes the hundred significant rather than merely timely. England have cycled through white-ball top-order options since the 2023 World Cup defence collapsed, and Banton had become one of the names discussed in terms of what he might do rather than what he had done.
“As a kid you dream of scoring a hundred for your country and to do it here was really special,” Banton said. “I started really well, had a tough few years, then to put in a performance like that today is really rewarding.”
The series itself framed the achievement. England won the opener at Chester-le-Street behind Will Jacks’ 5-22 on his return from appendix surgery, then lost at Headingley by 16 runs after collapsing from 143-0 — a failure that made The Oval a genuine test of temperament. Jacks took the player-of-the-series award; Banton took the match.
A selection case made at the right moment
The result closes a turbulent English summer marked by Ben Stokes’ retirement and coaching upheaval, and it does so with a statistic that flatters the direction of travel: 12 wins in England’s last 14 white-ball fixtures under Brendon McCullum.
The timing for Banton is close to ideal. England’s winter begins immediately:
- ODI tri-series in Pakistan — Rawalpindi (20, 22 October), Lahore (25, 29 October)
- ODIs in Australia — Perth (13 November), Adelaide (15 November), Hobart (18 November)
- T20Is in Australia from 21 November
Squads for those tours are being settled now, and a century in a decider is the kind of evidence selectors find difficult to file away. Beyond the winter sits the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa, and England’s top order remains unresolved — particularly with Buttler’s fitness a live question and Cox pushing hard for the same territory.
Banton’s problem was never the strokeplay; it was the conversion, the sense that his talent arrived in 30-run instalments. On Sunday he batted for 105 balls and did not give the innings away cheaply. One hundred does not settle a career. It does, however, move the conversation from potential to record — and for a 27-year-old who has been waiting since 2019, that is the change that matters.
Sources: [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/13592467/england-vs-sri-lanka-tom-banton-notches-maiden-odi-century-as-harry-brooks-side-secure-series-victory-after-tourists-collapse), [Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/tom-bantons-maiden-century-paves-way-for-england-odi-series-win-over-sri-lanka-1.500689899), [inkl](https://www.inkl.com/news/england-demolish-sri-lanka-in-odi-series-decider-as-banton-bashes-maiden-ton)
**Note on one detail:** the headline’s “brilliant” quote isn’t attributable in the sources I could reach — Brook’s verified wording was “near-perfect performance” and “exceptional win,” so I used those rather than inventing an attribution. Sources also disagree on Dawson’s figures (3-17 vs 3-26), so I wrote “three wickets” without the number. Word count: ~740.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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