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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself 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 team and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to keep him in this new position he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in the host nation have seen one of each. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Growth

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that time. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge 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 [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me 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, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the side that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations implies he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently he will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.