🔗 Share this article

The English side's preparations for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a chilly, rainy Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run before their third game against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by players who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar position, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this altered role he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

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 winter in New Zealand have featured one of each. In the opener, he faced nine balls and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Return and Development

This tour has witnessed Banton return to the country 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 sidelines before returning for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

And now, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know 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 is so small but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the approval from the head coach and I can step up and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Squad Decisions

After playing the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their team ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team here will be the same as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers 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 2019.