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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the last training session before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team plan to keep him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’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 me. The few years after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful 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. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the side that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.