Bannister was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England and went to King Edward VI Five Ways school in Birmingham.
[1] He played professionally on the county scene for Warwickshire as a fast-medium bowler, taking 1198 first-class wickets in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1969.
[6] He was a familiar voice on BBC TV's cricket coverage from 1984 through to 1994 firstly as a summariser then moving on to commentating in 1988.
David Gower joined the team in 1994 and eventually replaced Bannister the following summer, but Bannister continued to commentate on Natwest Trophy and Sunday League games until 1999, and had a full role at the BBC's coverage of the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
In later life, he provided commentary on and summaries of England international cricket matches on Talksport.