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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 midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last training session before their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener 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 pinnacle of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “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 appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in the host nation have featured one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen 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, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I’ve learned a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase 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 a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the same as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players arrived in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, flying 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. As a result Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.