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England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were forced to hold the last practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, 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 undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a T20 Blast game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and scored a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago 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 difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached 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 backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result he 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.