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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – 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 already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the first, he faced nine balls and scored a low score before getting out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country 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 more than three years in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. 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 Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the support 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 backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.