Tom Banton will resume unbeaten on a triple century at Taunton on day three of the opening round of the 2025 County Championship - how close is he to breaking Brian Lara's record of the most runs scored in a first-class innings?
Banton piled on the runs on day two at Taunton, having been unbeaten on 84 at the end of day one. He reached his century in the morning session and combined with James Rew for a mammoth partnership in which both batters passed 150. While Rew was out for 152, ending the partnership for 371 – the highest in the competition's history for Somerset – Banton continued on.
He reached a triple century late in the day, his first in first-class cricket, considerably bettering his previous best score of 133. At the end of the day, Banton's total sat at 344* – more than half of Somerset's innings total which reached 637-6, with a first innings lead of 483 – giving him a shot at history on day three.
Brian Lara has held the record since 1994 for the most runs scored in a first-class innings, after he scored 501* for Warwickshire in a County Championship match against Durham. That innings passed the record set by legendary Pakistan batter Hanif Mohammad in 1959.
Match 4, Somerset vs Worcestershire
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While Banton has a long way to go to better that score, he could climb further up the list of highest individual County Championship scores scores. He already has Somerset's highest score in the Championship, which he took from Justin Langer in the last over of day two, and only seven batters have previously scored totals in excess of 350 in the competition.
The other factor in the equation of how far Banton gets will be those at the other end. With Lewis Gregory also unbeaten overnight, Somerset have Craig Overton, Josh Davey and Jack Leach left in the hutch.
Full list: Highest County Championship scores
| Score | Batter | Match | Year |
| 501* | Brian Lara | Warwickshire v Durham | 1994 |
| 424 | Archibald MacLaren | Lancashire v Somerset | 1895 |
| 410* | Sam Northeast | Glamorgan v Leicestershire | 2022 |
| 405* | Graeme Hick | Worcestershire v Somerset | 1988 |
| 366 | Neil Fairbrother | Lancashire v Surrey | 1990 |
| 357* | Robert Abel | Surrey v Somerset | 1899 |
| 355* | Kevin Pietersen | Surrey v Leicestershire | 2015 |
| 344* | Murray Goodwin | Sussex v Somerset | 2009 |
| 344* | Tom Banton | Somerset v Worcestershire | 2025 |
| 343* | Percival Perrin | Essex v Derbyshire | 1904 |
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