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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 midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last training session before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this new position he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and scored nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, the visitors finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will miss the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.