🔗 Share this article England Postpone Team Announcement for Latest Twenty20 Match as Conditions Compel Inside Practice England'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 compelled to conduct the final practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these two-team contests fulfill, what valuable insights could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least one of the players, that is not an issue. Tom Banton's New Role: From Opener to Middle Order The cricketer says he is “still learning now”, and if it is the type of statement often repeated even by players who have already reached the peak of their game, in his case it is certainly accurate. After forging his reputation as a frontline hitter, primarily as an opener, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at five or six. “I didn't have too many conversations,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the squad and informed me, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’” Prior to returning in the summer, 87% of Banton’s over 160 senior T20 innings 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 fourth place. If England plan to keep him in this new position he needs every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Playing down the order,” he concluded, “is a much tougher than opening.” Varied Performances in New Zealand 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 the host nation have seen one of each. In the first, he faced nine balls and made a low score before holing out to the deep fielder; in the second, he played a dozen balls, scored 29, and finished unbeaten. Thoughts on Comeback and Growth This tour has seen Banton return to the nation in which he first played for his country in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then passed more than three years in the wilderness before returning for the new captain's initial match as skipper. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. Seems a lot has happened in that time. I've discovered a lot about myself. The few years after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a two- to three-year period where I was working myself out.” Support from Coaching Staff Currently, he has been assigned something new to work out. Banton is thankful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's skill to make him comfortable while he figures out how best to grasp it. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and express yourself.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I know it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it gives me the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It is so small 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 Team Selection After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a venue with expansive playing area, England finish the series on the next day at Eden Park, a multi-use 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 revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the identical as the side that began the earlier fixtures. Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches Next, they travel to Mount Maunganui and shift attention to ODIs, with a somewhat changed squad: Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley and Phil Salt are omitted, 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 Archer’s Test match buildup implies he will arrive later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the Tests in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in a few years back.