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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be 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 opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If England intend to keep him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

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 initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors complete it on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned 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 started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.