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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 New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last training session ahead of their third game against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what role these two-team contests serve, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, batting 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 middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority 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 No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to keep him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent a long period in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.”

Backing 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 ability to make him comfortable while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

Following the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, 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 unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, 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 the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.