🔗 Share this article

The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in February brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the last training session ahead of their next match against the Kiwis indoors. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.

Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Lower Down

The cricketer says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line often repeated even by athletes who have long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his situation it is undeniably true. After building his name as a top-order batter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new position, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at fourth place. If the team intend to keep him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has already worked out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.”

Mixed Results in the Tour

The player noted that “sometimes where it works well and it looks great and on other occasions where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the first, he faced a few deliveries and made nine runs before getting out to long-on; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Thoughts on Return and Growth

This tour has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the wilderness before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “It was six years ago when I made my debut. It feels like a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about me. The few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years stretch where I was working myself out.”

Support from Team Management

Currently, he has been given a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for Brendon McCullum’s ability to put him at ease while he figures 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 freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing someone says, but it provides the support that if it doesn't work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so small but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the backing from the head coach and I can step up and do it.’”

Shift in Location and Team Selection

Following the first two games of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a venue with expansive playing area, the visitors complete it on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a multi-use rugby and cricket ground where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup two days in advance while they determine if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the one that began the earlier fixtures.

Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches

Next, they travel to the coastal town and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Most newcomers arrived in Auckland on the same day but the scheduling of Archer’s Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. Consequently he will be absent for the opening game at Bay Oval, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.