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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the last training session ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. 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 a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If England intend to keep him in this new position he needs 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 lot harder 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 fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

The current series has witnessed Banton come back 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 2022 and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches 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 dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.