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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to keep him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity 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 opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have seen one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to long-on; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the team, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years 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.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.