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The English side's preparations for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February led them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last training session ahead of their third game against New Zealand inside. It is not always obvious what role these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

The Batter's New Role: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by players who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his situation it is certainly accurate. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Before his recall in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the rest – but for seven balls at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If England plan to keep him in this new position he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out one thing: “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 appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in the host nation have seen one of each. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the next game, he played 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Reflections on Return and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then passed a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about me. The period after I was left out from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can go out and do it.’”

Venue Change and Squad Decisions

After playing the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, England finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: three players drop out, while four others come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will arrive later, travelling with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result he will be absent for the first match at Bay Oval, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.