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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 forced to hold the final training session before their third game against New Zealand indoors. 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 no concern.

The Batter's New Role: Starting Batsman to Middle Order

The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton suddenly finds himself a completely unfamiliar role, coming in at the middle order. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at No3 and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team plan to retain him in this new position he needs 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.”

Varied Performances in New Zealand

The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the winter in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made nine runs before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, hit runs, and finished not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Development

This tour has seen Banton come back to the country in which he first played for his country in November 2019. After that, he moved away of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then spent more than three years in the sidelines before coming back for the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was strange,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Coaching Staff

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he works out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment someone says, but it gives me the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not the end of the world. It is so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”

Venue Change and Team Selection

Following the initial matches of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the field edge at 55m is among the most compact in the world. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches

On Friday, 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 Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will follow two days later, flying with two fellow bowlers, two seamers who are also preparing for the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the limited-overs team. Consequently he will miss the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in 2019.