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England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in February led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to conduct the final practice run before their next match against the Kiwis inside. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose 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 not an issue.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement regularly trotted out even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, mostly as an opener, 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 team and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an opener, another 8% at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If England intend to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he surmised, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Varied Performances 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 fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the team, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the wilderness before coming back for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred 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 stretch where I was finding my way.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. 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 seize the opportunity. “Baz approached me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the backing that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

After playing the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary 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 announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their preferred team for this match will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

On Friday, they travel to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of Archer’s Test match buildup means he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are not in the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.