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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the final training session before their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new position, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If England plan to keep him in this altered role he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match 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 myself. The few years after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “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 only a small thing from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others join the squad. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, 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 Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.