An incident in practice means the Somerset batsman will have to bide his time on the sidelines
Tom Banton is facing a month of the new season on the sidelines after breaking his finger in pre-season.
Banton has made waves in the white-ball world during his relatively short career to date, earning a host of contracts in franchise leagues around the world.
But he is equally keen to make an impact in red-ball cricket, and had been looking forward to a spring and summer in the LV= Insurance County Championship with Somerset.
However, an incident in practice means he will have to bide his time on the sidelines.
Tom Banton has broken a finger in pre-season [Harry Trump/Getty Images]
"Pre-season on the second day in the slips I dived to my left and I dropped it (the ball)," he told PA.
"I've had a few X-rays and it's fractured so 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.
"This is my second finger I've done, so (it's) not ideal."
Banton's disappointment was slightly tempered this week with news he has been re-signed by Welsh Fire for this year's Hundred in the £125,000 bracket.
"I think it's huge," he said "For me I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to be telling myself I have to score runs every game to get into that England team."
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.