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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run ahead of their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar role, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it gives me the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.