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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. 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 a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting 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, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If the team plan to retain him in this new position 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.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and made a low score before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, 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 initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about me. The period after I got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been given something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, 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, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it 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 sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their team ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will arrive later, flying with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.