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The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to hold the last practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these two-team contests fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener 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 pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation 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 conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If England plan to keep him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted 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 the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the first, he faced nine balls and scored nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, made a brief return in recently and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. 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 seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that started the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.