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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the final practice run before their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what role these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got 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 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If England intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed a long period in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” 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 a disaster. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the contest at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Three of those players arrived in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are excluded from 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 2019.