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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in the coming month brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the last training session before their third game against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached 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 now occupies a totally new position, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton return 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 a long period in the sidelines 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 made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about me. The period after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. 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 seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” 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 the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that began both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.