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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run ahead of their third game against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

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 long since scaled the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, coming in at five or six. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's skill to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors 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 most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will arrive two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.