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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid 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 the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have featured one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished not out.

Reflections on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I’ve learned a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped 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

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice 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 a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will arrive 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 limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.