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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were forced to hold the final practice run before their third game against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 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 previously – at fourth place. If England plan to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before returning 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. It feels like a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The period after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

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 skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment 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 approval from the head coach and I can go out and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at 55m is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: 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 the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently he will be absent for the first match at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.