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The English side's preparations 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 ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have 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.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’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 freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently he will miss the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.