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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and made a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

The current series 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 team, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new 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 came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, 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 step up and perform.’”

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 a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.