Tom Banton: Somerset and England batter to miss a month with broken finger

Tom Banton struck an unbeaten 106 for Somerset against Warwickshire before breaking his finger fielding in the slips

Tom Banton is set to be sidelined for a month after the Somerset and England batter broke a finger in a warm-up match against Warwickshire.

Banton, 23, injured the finger on his left hand while diving in an attempt to take a slip catch.

"I've had a few x-rays and it's fractured," the right-hander said.

"I've just seen a specialist and they're advising a few weeks off because if I do it again I might need an operation."

Banton was retained in the Men's Hundred draft by Welsh Fire on Tuesday in the top £125,000 salary bracket.

He featured in all five matches of England's T20 series against West Indies in January, top-scoring with 73 in the third T20 international as he opened the innings alongside Jason Roy.

"This is my second finger I've done, so not ideal," he added.

Banton will miss Somerset's opening County Championship fixture against Hampshire starting on Thursday after he had targeted a run of first-class appearances.

"Being realistic, my red ball is probably not where it needs to be," he added. "But I feel like it's definitely improving.

"I feel like I've come back as a new player this year. I've worked on a few things in the winter technically and a lot of things have changed, which I've seen the rewards of through pre-season.

"So hopefully I can take that into when I'm back playing."