I'm in fine Nick, Grandad
Compton seals England Test spot
NICK COMPTON might not have lived up to the family reputation for flamboyant batting — but he will surely play in next week’s First Test.
He ground out 64 not out after scoring nought and one in his first two innings on tour as England’s latest practice match ended in a draw.
Now he is sure to be Alastair Cook’s opening partner in Ahmedabad on November 15 and follow grandfather Denis as an England player.
Denis was one of the all-time legends of British sport — a winger for Arsenal, a wartime football international and, most famously of all, a genius of a batsman for Middlesex and England.
He helped lift the gloom of the post-war years with his brilliance and carefree character — he allegedly once turned up in a dinner jacket for a match at Lord’s after a night on the tiles.
In contrast, this was a strictly functional effort by Nick Compton, 29 — but it did the job. His innings spanned 162 balls and, with his chief rival Joe Root falling for 24, Compton has leapt to the front of the queue.
He was the preferred option to open with Cook but those twin failures cast some doubt. Now Compton can expect a Test debut.
He ground out 64 not out after scoring nought and one in his first two innings on tour as England’s latest practice match ended in a draw.
Now he is sure to be Alastair Cook’s opening partner in Ahmedabad on November 15 and follow grandfather Denis as an England player.
Denis was one of the all-time legends of British sport — a winger for Arsenal, a wartime football international and, most famously of all, a genius of a batsman for Middlesex and England.
He helped lift the gloom of the post-war years with his brilliance and carefree character — he allegedly once turned up in a dinner jacket for a match at Lord’s after a night on the tiles.
In contrast, this was a strictly functional effort by Nick Compton, 29 — but it did the job. His innings spanned 162 balls and, with his chief rival Joe Root falling for 24, Compton has leapt to the front of the queue.
He was the preferred option to open with Cook but those twin failures cast some doubt. Now Compton can expect a Test debut.
