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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run before their third game against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their sport, 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 completely unfamiliar position, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, 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 the team plan 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 lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “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 few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so small 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 Squad Decisions

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 multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their team two days in advance 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 the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.