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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last training session before their next match against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results 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 tour in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. 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 do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the one that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result he will miss the first match at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.