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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, 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 bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton 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 pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply 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 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period after I got dropped from England 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 assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Ashes preparations implies he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.