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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, coming in 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 middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England plan to keep him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have seen one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before getting out to long-on; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned 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 working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, 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 approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to ODIs, 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 scheduling of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.