Somerset sweat on Tom Banton after twisted ankle during football warm-up
In-form batter comes out with runner in key Championship clash after warm-up injury
ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2024Somerset face an anxious wait to discover whether Tom Banton will be fit to play for them at Vitality T20 Blast Finals Day after going over on his ankle in their football warm-up on Wednesday.Banton went for an X-ray during Surrey’s first innings in their County Championship game at Taunton and was cleared of an ankle break, but will undergo an MRI scan on Thursday to discover the extent of the damage. He hobbled out to bat – with a runner – at No. 11 and reached the close of play unbeaten on 28 off 28 balls.
Tom Banton limps out, what a warrior
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Somerset are defending champions in the Blast and will face Surrey in the first semi-final on Saturday morning. Banton is their leading run-scorer in the tournament with 515 at 46.81 and a strike rate of 151.02, and hit 75 in their quarter-final victory over Northamptonshire last week. He also hit 132 in the first innings against Surrey on Monday.”Tom went over awkwardly playing football in the warm-up this morning and, as a consequence, couldn’t take the field,” Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said. “We will get him scanned tomorrow and will have more information by the end of play. His heroics in batting today show how passionate he is about the club.”The situation in the game dictated that Tom might be needed to bat at the end of our innings. I was not in the dressing room, but I understand that he was adamant that he wanted to go out there.”Hurry also defended the club’s decision to play football as part of their warm-ups. “As director of cricket, I am keen to support it because I understand the value players get from it,” he said. “It gets the energy and heart-rate going in the morning, having rested from the previous day, and also gets them mentally ready to compete.”