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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final practice run before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the same as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: 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 the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.