TOM Banton, Somerset’s highly talented and versatile batter who also keeps wicket in T20 cricket, has signed an extention to his contract which will see him remaining with the club until at least the end of the 2026 season.

The 25-year-old former King’s College student made his T20 debut for the club while he was still on the Academy and has since gone on to appear in 134 matches for the county in all forms of the game, scoring over 4,800 runs.

He captained England Under 19s and made his debut for the England T20 side against New Zealand in 2019 in Nelson. Tom has also played in five ODI matches and has featured regularly in T20 franchise competitions across the world.

Tom has enjoyed his best season for Somerset and before his untimely injury ahead of the Surrey championship match he’d scored 891 runs, at an average of 49.50 with a best of 133. In the Vitality Blast Tom played 14 matches and scored 515 runs at an average of 46.82.

Tom said: “I love Somerset and this is where I want to play my cricket. There’s a great atmosphere around the place and we’re regularly competing for silverware in all formats of the game.”