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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the last practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons 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

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. 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: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great 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 first, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides 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 backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location 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 the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.