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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the final training session before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, 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 certainly accurate. After building his name as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new position, coming in at five or six. “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.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the tour in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning 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 discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge 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 team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the same as the side that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.