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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last training session before their next match against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – 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

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar role, batting 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, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If the team plan to keep him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the 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 first two games of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections 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 recently and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The period 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 assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful 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 seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, 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 manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while four others come in. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are not in the white-ball squad. As a result Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.