Banton century fuels England's 223-run demolition of Sri Lanka at Oval

England wrap summer with record ODI rout

Tom Banton delivered on all of his potential by crashing a brilliant first international century as England wrapped up their summer with an ODI series win over Sri Lanka.

Tom Banton celebrates his century for England against Sri Lanka at The Oval

The 27-year-old right-hander was once the rising star of English cricket when handed a debut in 2019 but afterwards fell out of love with the game after losing his way.

After reaching his hundred in 95 balls in the third one-day international at The Oval, he stood with arms wide and looked to the sky - all of that disappointment seemingly behind him.

Banton and Brook set platform

The opener went on to make 126 from 105 deliveries, perfectly countering tricky early conditions - conditions in which Joe Root struggled uncharacteristically for 18 from 37 balls - and going on to share an increasingly aggressive stand of 150 in 117 balls with captain Harry Brook.

Brook made 77 and Jordan Cox, picked in the place of the injured Jos Buttler, added a 52-ball 76 to lift England to 355-7.

That always appeared a match-winning total on a surface offering bounce for the pace bowlers and turn for the spinners.

Sri Lanka collapse

Sri Lanka crumbled to 132 all out in 29.1 overs, giving England a 223-run win and their biggest ODI victory against the tourists.

Sonny Baker, recalled for his second ODI in place of Josh Tongue, nicked off Pathum Nissanka with a quick, swinging and rising delivery two balls into the second over, after which Sri Lanka did not recover.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson also repaid the faith for his inclusion over Rehan Ahmed with figures of 3-26. Kusal Mendis made 35 as the tourists’ chase faltered.

Redemption for Banton

Banton's success is heartwarming. When, fresh out of Second XI cricket, he made his debut as a 20-year-old in 2019 he was seen as England's next big thing.

He was in the same England Under-19 team as Brook but, rather than the Yorkshireman who is now captain, it was the Somerset product who was given the opportunity when Eoin Morgan's World Cup-winning side needed a fresh face on its journey forward.

Tougher times followed, resulting in almost five years out of the 50-over side and only occasional T20 appearances. During that time Kevin Pietersen, now an England mentor, said Banton "has all the talent but, at the moment, he is wasting it".

With thrilling reverse sweeps, Banton showed the invention that drew those comparisons. He was also vicious on the pull, hit classically through the covers and, when Ben Duckett was bowled in the second over and Root faced 13 dot balls in a row, did not panic.

By the time he was dismissed he had hit 16 fours and five sixes. When he walked off he turned and raised his bat amid a standing ovation from The Oval crowd – as Pietersen famously did 21 years ago.

Series win amid summer turmoil

It meant England signed off their summer, one that included off-field issues, the end of Bazball, Ben Stokes' retirement and Root's surprise return as Test skipper, with a fifth successive series win amid the madness across formats.

Banton only has the opportunity as opener here because of Jacob Bethell's injury. He may find himself out of the XI when England begin a tri-series in Pakistan - a series that also involves Sri Lanka - on 20 October.

This summer has provided so many issues for England, including the end of Brendon McCullum's reign as Test coach. Still his ODI side now has momentum - a third series win a row - as it builds towards next year's World Cup.