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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton 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 peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said 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 first two games of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The period after I got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the same as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. As a result he will miss the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.