🔗 Share this article England Postpone Squad Announcement for Latest T20 Match as Weather Compel Inside Practice The English side's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in India in the coming month led them on midweek to a cool, drizzly New Zealand's largest city, where they were forced to hold the final practice run before their third game against New Zealand inside. 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 a squad member, that is not an issue. Tom Banton's Changed Position: From Opener to Middle Order The cricketer 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 pinnacle of their game, in his case it is undeniably true. After building his name as a frontline hitter, primarily as an starting player, Banton now occupies a completely unfamiliar 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.’” Before his recall 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 a brief stint at No 7 in a T20 Blast game previously – at fourth place. If the team intend to retain him in this altered role he requires every chance to get used to it, and he has figured out one thing: “Playing down the 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 looks great and other times where it doesn’t”, and the first two games of the tour in New Zealand have seen both outcomes. In the opener, he faced nine balls and scored nine runs before getting out to the deep fielder; in the next game, he faced 12 deliveries, scored 29, and finished unbeaten. Reflections on Comeback and Growth The current series has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in November 2019. Since then, he drifted back out of the team, had a short comeback in 2022 and then passed a long period in the sidelines before returning for the new captain's initial match as England captain. “On the flight over, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I made my debut. Seems a lot has occurred in that period. I've discovered a lot about myself. The period after I got dropped from England was a tough time for me. I had a two- to three-year stretch 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 offered a return, and also for the coach's skill to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “Baz came up to me before [the recent game] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ It’s nice to have that liberty,” Banton said. “I realize it’s only a small thing from the staff, but it provides 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 approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’” Venue Change and Team Selection After playing the first two games of the series at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on the next day at the Auckland arena, a multi-use sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the sport. With uncertain weather and an new location they have dropped their recent habit of announcing their lineup two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the same as the side that started the earlier fixtures. Squad Adjustments for ODI Series On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended squad: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players arrived in the city on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Test match buildup means he will follow later, flying with Mark Wood and Josh Tongue, two seamers who are also preparing for the Tests in Australia but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will miss the opening game at the venue, the stadium where he was subjected to abuse on his only previous appearance, in 2019.