🔗 Share this article

England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the final practice run before their third game against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team plan to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 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 happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given 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 grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know 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 small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.