England Postpone Squad Reveal for Latest T20 Match as Conditions Force Indoor Practice

England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in February brought them on midweek to a chilly, rainy New Zealand's largest city, where they were compelled to hold the last training session before their third game against New Zealand inside. The purpose isn't always clear what role these two-team contests fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be learned – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue.

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

Tom Banton says he is “continuing to develop”, and if it is the kind of line regularly trotted out even by athletes who have already reached the peak of their sport, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar role, coming in at five or six. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the middle order now.’”

Before his recall in June, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 senior T20 innings had been as an starting batsman, a further portion at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a domestic T20 game eight years ago – at No 4. If the team intend to keep him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to get used to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than starting the innings.”

Varied Performances in the Tour

Banton said that “there’s going to be times where it comes off and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the winter in the host nation have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and scored a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and ended the innings not out.

Reflections on Comeback and Development

The current series has seen Banton come back to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he moved away of the side, had a short comeback in recently and then spent a long period in the sidelines before coming back for Harry Brook’s initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that period. I’ve learned a lot about myself. The few years after I was left out from the national team was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”

Backing from Team Management

Currently, he has been assigned something new to tackle. Banton is thankful to have been offered a return, and also for the coach's ability to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Go out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not the end of the world. It’s something 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 first two games of the series at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, a stadium with expansive playing area, England finish the series 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 sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their recent habit of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they determine if their preferred team here will be the identical as the one that began both previous games.

Upcoming Changes for ODI Series

On Friday, they move to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to one-day internationals, with a slightly amended squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith join the squad. Three of those players landed in the city on the same day but the scheduling of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will arrive later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the Tests in the away series but are excluded from the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his sole prior visit, in 2019.