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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the last training session ahead of their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role 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.

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

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players 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, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team intend 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: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and made a low score before getting out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned 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 Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is grateful 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 approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, 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 manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: three players drop out, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.