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The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to hold the final practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

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

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, 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 totally new 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 informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored nine runs before holing out to long-on; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring 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 work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team here will be the identical as the side that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.