🔗 Share this article

England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month brought them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the final practice run before their third game against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what role these two-team contests serve, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

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

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their game, in his situation it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has already worked 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 “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted nine balls and made nine runs before holing out to long-on; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton return to the country in which he first played for his country in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about me. 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 something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for Brendon McCullum’s skill to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing someone says, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, 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 expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their preferred team here will be the same as the side that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

Next, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: three players are omitted, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will arrive two days later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.