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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run before their third game against the Kiwis 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 one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his case 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 five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If the team plan to retain 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 starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations implies he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.