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England's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the final training session before their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team plan to retain him in this altered role he requires every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it looks great and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in late 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The period after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Coaching Staff

And now, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, 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, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that began both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on Wednesday but the timing of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.