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The English side's preparations 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 training session ahead of their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – 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 regularly trotted out even by athletes who have long since scaled the peak of their game, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar role, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings 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 eight years ago – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Mixed Results in New Zealand

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he faced a few deliveries and scored a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then passed more than three years in the sidelines before returning for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to grasp it. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their team two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players drop out, while four others join the squad. Most newcomers landed in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the white-ball squad. Consequently Archer will miss the opening game at Bay Oval, the stadium where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.