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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced 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 serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” 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 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great 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 lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent 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 happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result he will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.