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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the last training session ahead of their third game against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests 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 New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new position, coming in at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘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 starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have seen one of each. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored nine runs before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the team, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “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 time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result Archer 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.