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The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run before their next match against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what purpose 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 Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar role, coming in at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and made a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on the next day at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team here will be the identical as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.