🔗 Share this article

England's training sessions for a warm, arid T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to hold the last practice run ahead of their next match against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these two-team contests serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the pinnacle of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the first, he lasted nine balls and scored nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished unbeaten.

Thoughts on Comeback and Development

The current series has witnessed Banton come back 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 spent more than three years in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” 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 got dropped from the national team was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been given something new to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, 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 [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, 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, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can step up and perform.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with unusually long boundaries, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the world. 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 ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers landed in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.