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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the final practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, 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 “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 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 seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If England intend to retain him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then passed more than three years in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility 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 usual practice of revealing their team ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team here will be the same as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: 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 timing of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.