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The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run before their next match against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he faced nine balls and made nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Return and Development

The current series has witnessed Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. 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.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is grateful 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 play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their team ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently he will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.