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The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last training session ahead of their third game against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “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 lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well 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 faced nine balls and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment 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 backing from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors 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 most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.