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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run before their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” 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 June, 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 seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he drifted back out 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 strange,” 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 was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] 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 support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, 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 means he will follow two days later, flying with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result he will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.