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England's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to conduct the last practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. It is not always obvious what role these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

The Batter's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar role, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

The player noted that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored a low score before getting out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in recently and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 as England captain. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about me. The period after I was left out 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 Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to work out. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] 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 work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the contest at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the side that started both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Most newcomers arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Ashes preparations implies he will follow two days later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will miss the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.