The English Team Postpone Squad Reveal for Latest T20 Fixture as Weather Compel Inside Training
England's training sessions for a hot, dry T20 World Cup in the subcontinent in the coming month led them on Wednesday to a cool, drizzly Auckland, where they were compelled to conduct the last practice run before their third game against the Kiwis inside. It is not always obvious what purpose these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be gained – but on this instance, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.
The Batter's Changed Position: Starting Batsman 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 long since scaled the pinnacle of their sport, in his case it is undeniably true. After forging his reputation as a top-order batter, mostly as an starting player, Banton now occupies a totally new role, batting at five or six. “There weren’t really too many discussions,” he said. “I just got brought me back into the squad and told, ‘Your role will be in the lower batting lineup now.’”
Prior to returning in June, the vast majority of Banton’s over 160 professional T20 appearances had been as an starting batsman, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for seven balls at No 7 in a domestic T20 game previously – at No 4. If the team plan to keep him in this new position he needs every chance to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out one thing: “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 works well and it looks great and other times where it fails”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have seen one of each. In the first, he lasted a few deliveries and scored a low score before getting out to long-on; in the second, he faced 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.
Reflections on Return and Development
This tour has witnessed Banton return to the nation in which he made his international debut in late 2019. Since then, 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 the new captain's first T20 as skipper. “During the journey, it was weird,” he said. “Time has passed when I started internationally. It feels like a lot has occurred in that time. I’ve learned a lot about me. The period after I got dropped from England was a difficult phase for me. I had a couple of years period where I was finding my way.”
Support from Team Management
Currently, he has been assigned a fresh challenge to tackle. Banton is grateful to have been given another chance, and also for the coach's ability to put him at ease while he figures out how best to seize the opportunity. “The coach approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Head out and play your natural game.’ 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 work, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘Alright, I’ve got the approval from the manager and I can go out and perform.’”
Venue Change and Squad Decisions
Following the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with unusually long boundaries, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at Eden Park, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the shortest in the sport. With changeable conditions and an new location they have abandoned their usual practice of revealing their lineup ahead of time while they work out if their ideal XI here will be the same as the one that started both previous games.
Upcoming Changes for One-Day Matches
Next, they travel to the coastal town and turn focus to one-day internationals, with a somewhat changed team: three players drop out, while Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith come in. Most newcomers landed in Auckland on the same day but the timing of the bowler's Ashes preparations means he will follow later, flying with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also building towards the longer format in Australia but are excluded from the white-ball squad. As a result he will be absent for the opening game at the venue, the ground where he was racially abused on his only previous appearance, in 2019.