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The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what role these two-team contests serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out 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 top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new position, 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 lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to keep him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” 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 period after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their lineup ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.