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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to hold the last practice run before their third game against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these two-team contests fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If England plan to retain him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in the host nation have featured one of each. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country 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 more than three years in the wilderness before coming back 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 made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that time. 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 two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at 55m is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while four others join the squad. Three of those players landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.