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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run ahead of their third game against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, coming in at five or six. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he requires every chance to get used to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances 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 first two games of the winter in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and scored a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

The current series has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. 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 Coaching Staff

And now, he has been assigned 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 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 liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the one that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.