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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new position, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, 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 seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to retain him in this new position he requires every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period 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.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’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, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.