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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run ahead of their third game against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England intend 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: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened 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 period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will miss the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.