Tom Banton says he has ambitions to play Test cricket, but is not about to be swayed by Michael Vaughan's assertion that he needs to ditch his Indian Premier League contract to take part in the County Championship with Somerset.
Speaking on the eve of England's first warm-up match on the white-ball leg of their tour of South Africa, Banton, 21, admitted he is still getting his head round a "whirlwind" 12 months, which included a starring role in the Royal London Cup final at Lord's, an explosive introduction to the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat, and a maiden England T20 call-up for the recent tour of New Zealand.
And now, with a number of England's World Cup-winning batsmen resting for the ODIs in South Africa, Banton is in line to make his international debut in the 50-over format too. In the short term, his likely berth will be at No,3, with England's established pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy set to resume their alliance at the top of the order.
While Banton's outstanding talent was already well known on the county circuit, his profile was sent soaring over the course of this winter - most particularly at the BBL, where his haul of three fifties in seven matches included a stunning innings of 56 from 19 balls against Sydney Thunder, featuring five sixes in a row and seven in total.
That innings, and similarly hard-hitting knocks against Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers, confirmed the impression that Kolkata Knight Riders had picked up a bargain in signing Banton for just over £100,000 at the IPL auction in December. He is set to link up at the franchise with the England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, where the influence of head coach Brendon McCullum will no doubt help to hone his game in the shortest format.
All of which means that, regardless of Vaughan's belief that Banton is ready to challenge for a Test berth (despite averaging 27.12 in 12 first-class matches for Somerset), his short-term career trajectory could not be clearer.
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Asked whether he would be honouring his KKR contract, Banton said: "Yes, 100 percent. When I was growing up, IPL was definitely something I thought I'd love to do, and play for England and definitely in Test cricket as well. But we'll just have to wait and see."
"I just think this last year has been a whirlwind," he added. "I was in Perth last year playing first grade for South Perth and I think I averaged 10 across all cricket. I wasn't really sure if I was enjoying it that much, which was a bit of a shame.
"I'd open and seem to get out in the first two overs, and then not do a lot for about a month or so. But definitely I'd like to play Test cricket. I'll just take it day by day and see how it goes."
And yet, despite his success, Banton was candid about the state of his game after linking up with the England squad in Paarl, and said that he would be seeking the advice of England's Test captain Joe Root, ahead of their practice matches against a South Africa Invitation XI on Friday and South Africa A on Saturday.
"I think the last few months, I've kind of lost, not the basics of cricket, but just there that net session didn't feel like how I'd have liked it to have done. After this, I'm going to hit with Rooty.
"I just feel I'm not coming forward as much as I'd like to, but I guess there's always areas you can improve on. I just want to keep enjoying my cricket, I love playing it and a bad net session isn't going to change a career."
With back-to-back T20 World Cups looming in Australia this winter and India in 2021-22, Banton's inclusion in the 50-over squad is a reflection of how that format is now being used to test up-and-coming prospects. For the moment, he will be on the outside looking in when the three-match T20I series begins next month, with the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler returning to the front line in his place.
However, he is still firmly focussed on pressing his T20I claims, having had a taste of the format with three matches and a top score of 31 from 20 balls in New Zealand in November.
"I'm yet to get a score with an England badge on, which is pretty disappointing," he said. "I've only played three games, I know, but it's something to do.
"Maybe one of those 30s could have gone on to be a 60 and it would have been completely different, but I'm not going to change the way I've played.
"The white-ball team seems so strong at the moment but I'd love to go," he added. "You've just got to keep performing, haven't you? We've got the summer coming up and an IPL so I think some strong performances there are going to help."