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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

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

The cricketer 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 pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position 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 become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has witnessed Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was working myself out.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [the recent game] 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 from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of revealing their team ahead of time 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 move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers arrived in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.