Banbury Cricket Club are delighted to announce the signing of talented top-order batter Sam Fanning ahead of the upcoming 2026 season.
Fanning is a classy young batter, originally from NSW but now based in Perth. He joins Banbury with an impressive pedigree in both red-ball and white-ball cricket, bringing valuable experience from Australian domestic cricket and premier club competitions!
Speaking about the season ahead, Sam said: "I can't wait to get stuck in with the lads, they seem like a great bunch of blokes from what I have heard and I'm keen to add to their success."
The 25-year-old currently represents Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, coming fresh off 99 against a Victorian attack led by Scott Boland. He has also been a part of the dominant Perth Scorchers squad since BBL13, including their title winning campaign this year!
When not on duty for WA, he plays for Perth CC in the WACA Premier Cricket Competition. The young batter also represented Australia in the 2020 U19 World Cup, registering an impressive 75 vs India in the Quarter Final.
Whilst on a rookie contract with WA, Sam dominated WACA Premier Cricket in 2021/22, finishing with 867 runs at an average of 51. He had also been in the runs for the Western Australia 2nd XI in the Futures League, with 179 runs at 44.75, which earned him a full contract. His 2022/23 Summer got off to a flyer too, with 2 hundreds in his first 4 innings, including an excellent 158* against Joondalup DCC. He ended that season with 1065 runs in all formats, including 778 in First Grade. It was in November 2022 that he would make his first class debut for Western Australia, against a NSW attack that included Nathan Lyon and also top scored for a WA XI with 59 in a low scoring match against India in a T20 warm up match at the WACA.
In his previous UK stint, he played for Little Lever CC in the North West Cricket League, scoring 806 runs at 44.78, with a best of 107*.
For Banbury, Sam will represent the 1st XI in the Home Counties Premier League and various cup competitions, and we are delighted that he will also be the lead coach for our growing Women & Girls section, offering some invaluable professional insights.
On his goals for the Summer, he added: "I want to go as far as we can in the National competitions. I love playing knock out cricket and that brings the best out in us as players, so those competitions excite me a lot. UK cricket tests your decision making on different wickets than we have back home in Australia. More seam and spin friendly pitches will test the adaptability of my batting."
On what attracted him to Banbury: "A big attraction was the area, I had heard great things about being close to Oxford and the Cotswolds - places I'll make my way to over the course of the Summer!"
His addition is a major boost to the club's ambitions and will be an important part of a young, and exciting squad in 2026!
Sam is set to join the squad in April and will be available for selection from the start of the campaign.
Banbury Cricket Club would like to welcome Sam and wish him every success in the upcoming season.