🔗 Share this article

England's preparations for a warm, arid 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 forced to hold the final training session before their next match against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests 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: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players 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 starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in June, the vast majority 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 seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If England plan to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before getting out to long-on; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then passed a long period in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The period after I was left out from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head 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 support 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.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

Following the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, England complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use 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 team ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow two days later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result he will miss the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.