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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer 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 peak of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If the team plan to keep him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

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 tour in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton come back 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 recently and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was strange,” 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 got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and turn focus to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers arrived in the city on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.