🔗 Share this article

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 Auckland, where they were forced to hold the final training session ahead of their third game against the Kiwis indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what role these bilateral series fulfill, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is no concern.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by athletes who have already reached the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton suddenly finds himself a totally new role, batting at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and informed me, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, a further portion at No3 and the rest – but for a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this new position he requires every chance to get used to it, and he has already worked out one thing: “Batting in the middle order,” he surmised, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

Banton said that “sometimes where it comes off and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he faced nine balls and made nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the second, he faced a dozen balls, hit runs, and ended the innings unbeaten.

Reflections on Comeback and Growth

The current series has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, he moved away of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the wilderness 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 occurred in that period. 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 couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful 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 came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment 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.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the shortest in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of announcing their lineup ahead of time while they determine if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that began both previous games.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

Next, they move to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed squad: three players are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will follow later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result he 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.