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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run ahead of their third game against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If England intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

The current series has seen Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in recently and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out 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 given a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach came up to 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 only a small thing someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players arrived in the city on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result Archer will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.