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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 compelled to conduct the final training session before their third game against New Zealand inside. 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 one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by athletes who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new position, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really 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 over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to retain him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in late 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 the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's skill to make him comfortable while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, 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 approval from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their team two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will miss the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.