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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team intend to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes 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 both outcomes. In the first, he faced nine balls and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached 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 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 is so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling 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. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.