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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to hold the last practice run before their third game against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 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 seventh spot 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 get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as England captain. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team here will be the same as the one that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations implies he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are not in the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the first match at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.