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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 cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If England intend to keep him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I’ve learned a lot about me. The period after I got dropped from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.