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The English side's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to conduct the last training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious 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 New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to keep him in this new position 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 starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and made nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back 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 passed more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment 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, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the same as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players landed in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling 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 Tests in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.