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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the last practice run before their third game against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If England plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every possible opportunity 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 New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, 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. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill 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 nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know 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, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while four others join the squad. Three of those players arrived in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.