Battling Compton.

Many argued that Compton was dropped unfairly from the England squad first time around. I am less familiar with the circumstances, as I didn’t follow cricket at the time. I was aware that this was a man who was being recalled back onto the international stage. And the circumstances were far from easy. You’re playing South Africa in South Africa against a brilliant pace attack with the likes of Steyn, Morkel, and the up and coming Rabada. Compton was to come in at No.3 and fittingly so. He’s the solid type, a rather gritty player. His game is based on a solid defense and putting away the bad balls. Strokeplaying is not of the essence, but rather grinding the opposition’s bowlers and building a partnership.

On that morning in Durban, his role couldn’t have been more needed. South Africa won the toss and put England into bat and the events spiralled after that. Cook was dismissed for a duck and Hales went for 10 on debut. Very soon Compton found himself at the crease with Joe Root. Yet, Root fell for 24 and England slumped to 49–3. It was an England side that had numerous batting failures in the recent past, but Cook and Root were doing most of the run gathering (2,749 runs between them in 2015). If there was a time to step up it was now. If you were Nick Compton, you would know the only thing preventing England from potentially collapsing on the first day of the start of the series was yourself.

Compton dug himself in. He did what he did best. He defended the good ball, pushed and nudged the ball in the gaps and ran hard, and sent the bad balls to the boundary. Compton scored 85 occupying the crease for 383 minutes. Battling the new ball and anchoring the innings isn’t for the faint hearted and rarely does a lapse in mental concentration go unpunished.

For the rest of the series Compton had some good starts, unfortunately getting out in the 40s a couple of times. After which he began to taper off a bit. He had a good start, but perhaps not as well as he hoped. When England were due for series in Sri Lanka at home, doubts were raised over Compton. More so given his struggles playing for Middlesex at the start of the county championships.

Compton’s Sri Lanka series didn’t go very well as those following the series would well know. With every failure the pressure mounted. In that final innings, there really wasn’t anyone in that stadium more at pressure than him. Just when he looked good, he edged one to Chandimal off Eranga. Compton yelled in agony and walked off the field.

Some argue he’s been found out. Compton stands straight up in his crease he head turned a bit with his bat raised. Compton is virtually still as stone until the ball is pitched. Lacking a trigger movement, he is late to get in line with the ball and get forward. Shortly after the series ended, Compton announced he was taking an indefinite break from the game. I think it will do him good. Compton is an intense man and there is no doubt he puts all his heart into his craft, a break might just be what he needs.

I truly hope Compton returns to country cricket and it would be absolutely incredible for him to get another crack at international cricket. Never say never. Regardless of the stats on the board, he’s comes off as a very decent man. No one can doubt he’s put the highest effort in chasing his dreams. There is pride in that, immense pride. Compton can hold his head high knowing he did give that to the game.