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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to hold the final training session before their next match against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

The Batter'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 building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured one of each. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Return and Development

The current series has witnessed Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I’ve learned a lot about me. The period after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Backing 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 Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their team ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith 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 later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the white-ball squad. As a result Archer will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.