Tom Banton had waited six years and 52 white-ball appearances for an England century. He needed 105 balls to end the wait, and when it came at the Kia Oval on Sunday it did not arrive quietly: 126 runs, 16 fours, five sixes, and a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka built on top of it.
England’s 223-run victory in the deciding Metro Bank ODI was as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests. Set 356 after England posted 355-7, Sri Lanka were dismantled for 132 in 29.1 overs, with more than 20 overs of their innings unused. Banton was named player of the match. Will Jacks, whose 5-22 at Chester-le-Street had won the opener on his return from appendix surgery, took the series award.
From 68-2 to a record-shaped total
England were not always in control. Two down for 68, with Jos Buttler absent and the middle order untested, they were closer to the collapse that cost them the second ODI at Headingley — where they fell from 143-0 to a 16-run defeat — than to a series-sealing total.
Banton settled it. He made 70 of England’s first 108 runs, then added 150 for the third wicket with captain Harry Brook, who survived a dropped catch on seven to make 77. Banton’s hundred came up with the kind of low-risk aggression that has been demanded of him for years and rarely delivered in an England shirt; he fell only when he hooked Colombage to long-on, having already made the game safe.
Jordan Cox, in only his second ODI in two years while deputising for Buttler, hit 76 from 52 balls at a strike rate of 146. Sri Lanka’s reply barely began. From 36-1 they lost five wickets in 10 overs to slide to 82-6 with no recognised batter left. Liam Dawson claimed three wickets, his best return in the format, and six of England’s seven bowlers took at least one.
Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis offered no excuses: “We struggled with the batting and then we made some mistakes in the field, including me. We made too many mistakes.”
A career that finally converted
Banton’s story has been one of promise deferred rather than promise unfulfilled. He debuted in T20Is in November 2019 against New Zealand, aged 20, and in ODIs three months later against South Africa. Then came the long middle passage: 42 T20I caps without a century, seven ODIs with a top score of 58, and a 19-month absence from the one-day side after his last appearance against India in February 2025.
The Oval hundred was his first in 53 combined limited-overs matches for England — a statistic that explains why the innings carried weight beyond a dead-rubber-turned-decider.
“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.”
Brook’s verdict was broader: “I thought that was a near-perfect performance there. I thought everyone chipped in and it was an exceptional win.”
What it means for the winter
The series win closes England’s home summer with their white-ball record under Brendon McCullum reading 12 wins in the last 14 matches — a marked recovery from the Champions Trophy and World Cup failures that triggered the regime change. It also resolves, at least temporarily, a batting position England have been unable to fill since Jason Roy’s decline.
The schedule gives Banton little time to let the innings settle:
- 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
Those 10 white-ball fixtures represent the bulk of England’s selection runway before the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa, where the pitches are expected to reward exactly the top-order tempo Banton produced at The Oval. Buttler’s return will reshape the order, and Jacks’ all-round series suggests competition rather than certainty. But a player who spent six years being described in terms of what he might become has now produced the innings that describes him differently.
Sri Lanka, for their part, leave England with one win from three and the same recurring problem: a batting line-up that folded twice in three matches. They travel home to a home series against Bangladesh in November with questions about their middle order unanswered.
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.
900 articles published
