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The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final training session ahead of their third game against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, 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 kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at fourth place. If England plan to keep him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 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 happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from the national team 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 something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing 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, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can go out and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on the next day 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 dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the same as the one that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while four others join the squad. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from 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 sole prior visit, in a few years back.