England Delay Team Announcement for Upcoming T20 Match as Weather Compel Indoor Training
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 Auckland, where they were forced to conduct the last practice run ahead of their next match against New Zealand indoors. The purpose isn't always clear what purpose these bilateral series serve, what useful lessons could possibly be learned – but on this occasion, for at least a squad member, that is not an issue.
The Batter's New Role: 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 already reached the peak 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 role, batting at the middle order. “I didn't have too many discussions,” he said. “They simply brought me back into the team and told, ‘You’re going to bat in the lower batting lineup now.’”
Before his recall in the summer, the vast majority of Banton’s 162 professional T20 appearances had been as an opener, another 8% at third position and the remaining handful – but for a brief stint at seventh spot in a T20 Blast game previously – at No 4. If the team plan to keep him in this altered role he requires every possible opportunity to become accustomed to it, and he has figured out a key point: “Batting in the middle order,” he concluded, “is a lot harder than opening.”
Varied Performances in New Zealand
The player noted that “there’s going to be times where it works well and it appears brilliant and other times where it doesn’t”, and the initial matches of the tour in New Zealand have featured both outcomes. In the opener, he lasted a few deliveries and made a low score before holing out to long-on; in the second, he played 12 deliveries, hit runs, and finished unbeaten.
Reflections on Return and Development
The current series has seen Banton return to the country in which he made his international debut in late 2019. After that, he drifted back out of the side, made a brief return in 2022 and then spent a long period in the wilderness before returning for Harry Brook’s first T20 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 period. I've discovered 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 stretch where I was finding my way.”
Support from Coaching Staff
Currently, he has been given 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. “Baz approached me before [Monday’s second T20] and said, ‘Go out and play your natural game.’ It's reassuring to have that freedom,” Banton said. “I realize it’s just a brief comment from the staff, but it provides the backing that if it doesn’t come off, it’s not a disaster. It’s something so minor but for me it’s, ‘OK, I’ve got the backing from the manager and I can step up and do it.’”
Venue Change and Team Selection
Following the first two games of the contest at the South Island ground, a stadium with expansive playing area, the visitors finish the series on Thursday at the Auckland arena, a dual-purpose sports facility where the straight boundary at a short distance is among the most compact in the world. With uncertain weather and an unfamiliar venue they have dropped their usual practice of revealing their team two days in advance while they work out if their ideal XI for this match will be the identical as the one that started both previous games.
Squad Adjustments for One-Day Matches
On Friday, they move to the coastal town and shift attention to ODIs, with a slightly amended team: three players are omitted, while four others come in. Three of those players arrived in the city on Wednesday but the scheduling of the bowler's Test match buildup implies he will arrive two days later, travelling with two fellow bowlers, fast bowlers who are also preparing for the longer format in the away series but are not in the limited-overs team. As a result Archer will miss the first match at the venue, the stadium where he was racially abused on his sole prior visit, in a few years back.
