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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last training session before their next match against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

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

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in late 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge 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 works out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the same as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed team: three players drop out, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on Wednesday but the timing of the bowler'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 excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.