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The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies 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 team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have seen one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the backing 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 approval from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup ahead of time 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 ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will arrive later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.