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The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run before their third game against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the peak of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to keep him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished not out.

Reflections on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.