This month, Nick Compton scored his first century in almost a year after a torrid start to the Test Match summer. In a revealing interview for Last Word on Sports, Jeremy Blackmore spoke to the batsman at close of play about his struggles to regain form and his relief on reaching three figures.
The setting was the same; the result very different. Just as he had during Nick Compton’s agonising Test innings against Sri Lanka in June, Old Father Time looked down as the Middlesex batsman took a single to bring up his first 100 in almost a year. It was a century he had begun to doubt would ever come.
Two months ago Compton exited the England team at Lord’s following a tortured Test series against Sri Lanka in which he made just 51 runs in five visits to the crease.
An extended break from the game followed. He made an unconvincing return against Surrey in early August. Then on a sunny Sunday afternoon [14th August], against a strong Durham attack, he finally reached three figures. Facing Scott Borthwick, the man many tipped to take Compton’s England place, the right-hander took a single and ran towards the Nursery End, punching the air. Even to those watching 100 metres away in the stand named after his famous grandfather, the sense of relief was palpable.
At close of play he reflected on a period in which scoring runs – something he amassed in their thousands in previous seasons – became harder and harder.
“Today was pretty special,” he said. “It almost felt like going back to getting my first ever 100 if I’m honest.”
Reflections on a torrid time
He paused as he struggled to put the last few months into words: “I’m still trying to work out how badly it went over the past three or four months. I suppose in many ways it’s probably a good thing to say that I’ve not been in bad form like that for probably eight years, where I literally felt like batting left-handed might have been the better option at one stage.”
It’s a searingly honest admission from a player, desperate to succeed in the Test arena, whose struggles were played out in the full glare of the cameras, his technique dissected on a daily basis.
He offered an insight into his inner turmoil: “As I reached three figures, I just felt like: ‘never doubt yourself again’. You know, it’s there, even when I couldn’t find it – and couldn’t find it and couldn’t find it. There were times where I really did doubt it.
“It’s horrible when you’re in an England shirt and that’s happening, because you almost want to stop time and say: ‘hang on guys, let me just go and find it. I know I’ve got it, it’s somewhere there’. But you can’t do that. I was trying to make the most of it while I was out there, and nothing seemed to work.
“Some of the shots and the ways I was getting out were painful. It might have been hard to watch, but it was certainly painful for me, because you don’t want to let yourself down and also you’ve got 10 great players in that changing room and wearing an England shirt is something you’ve that always wanted to do. So that single there today, just a lot of elation, just to go: ‘bloody hell, that’s nice to feel again’.”
An Increasingly Fluent Knock
Coming in late on Saturday evening, Compton was dropped twice early in his innings, and took the opportunity of a second and third life to rebuild his game the following morning. Bit by bit, his old fluency returned as he posted 131 from 247 balls.
“Last night I just tried to fight. It wasn’t pretty. I was lucky. There’s no doubt that a couple of dropped catches helped me there.
“I suppose it’s been a good life lesson, in many ways. It hasn’t been fun. I suppose I’ve worked out a few technical things over the last four or five hours, when I was batting when I thought: ‘oh my word, why didn’t I do this against Sri Lanka’.” A rueful smile crosses his face.
“I just realised that I’d been closing myself off a little bit, It’s such a small thing, and I’d been trying everything, but I actually realised last night when I got home that I should open my stance a bit and as soon as I did in the nets this morning I suddenly knew where my off stump was again and the straight ball didn’t feel threatening. It was like a massive relief in many ways.
“It’s just a shame the timing was what it was, it would be nice to be out there now playing [for England]. But these things happen; other players go through bad bouts of form. Mentally it’s been really challenging.”
His batting became more fluent as he reached his half-century, his first since hitting 85 in the Durban Test last winter.
“When I got to 50, I didn’t really have a plan in going quickly to 100, but it came pretty easily. I just felt like all the angles and lines suddenly worked again, anything just marginally outside off-stump, I felt the whole off-side opened up for me again, whereas that’s just not happened for a long time.”
Again a sense of relief, coupled with frustration, is evident.
“Even though you’ve written down your notes over the years and I know these things, if you can’t find the feeling, it’s a bloody hard game,” he says with considerable feeling.
“It was definitely the moment [reaching 50], where anything straight I was able to work off and those angles came again and I felt a lot more free-flowing. It was nice personal innings and it was something that was nice to give to the team. I just feel very chuffed to have overcome what has been a very tough period.”
Break from the Game
Compton explains what led him to take time out from the game to recharge his batteries following the Sri Lanka series: “You just want to do the team justice that you’re playing for and do yourself justice. I’ve never wanted to take a break. I’m not the kind of person who’s shied away from a challenge, but I had to realise that I just wasn’t doing myself any good at the time and I’m very grateful to England and Middlesex for the support that they’ve given me.”
Did he find motivation hard to find after the Sri Lanka series? “Yeah. Not for cricket. But as much as I was trying to get myself going, I was practicing hard, I was trying to really work out what I was doing wrong, sometimes you almost feel you’re flogging a dead horse after a while.
“You have to be honest with yourself. I don’t think it’s a case of being weak, but it is a case of being honest with yourself and saying: ‘you know what, I’m fried here. I know it’s there somewhere, but I just can’t seem to find it’. You want to be motivated, but it was hard to push through.”
Middlesex’s Title Push
Something which is providing a fresh challenge – and one Compton is relishing – is Middlesex’s challenge for their first County Championship title in 23 years. His century against Durham, together with 145 from Nick Gubbins with whom he shared a partnership of 247, laid the platform for a comprehensive innings victory, which took Middlesex comfortably clear at the top of Division One.
“To win the County Championship would be amazing. I came here because this is my club, it’s a club that I played for [before a successful stint at Somerset] and my grandfather obviously has great history here and it’s something that hasn’t been achieved for a number of years. So to come back in my second year, having come second last year and show the improvement that we keep making year on year would be absolutely fantastic.
“You know I haven’t got enough positive words to say about Nick Gubbins to be honest. I think the innings of the day was him, you know. As a young opener, I can tell you right now, he’s got a long, long future. It was great to be there and his support helped massively.”
How does Compton see himself fitting into this Middlesex challenge?
“The past is the past and it’s just great to put the team in a great position. I was desperate after the [Sri Lanka] series when clearly things hadn’t gone very well to be part of this strong Middlesex team. There’s no doubt we’ve got a special unit and something special going on here at the moment and I’m desperate to contribute to that and I’m just glad that we’re in a strong position against a good Durham team.”
History against Durham
Compton’s record against Durham is one of his best, something he prides himself on against one of the best seam attacks on the county circuit. His 131 this month came against an attack comprising Graham Onions, Chris Rushworth and a lightning quick Mark Wood.
“I’ve been lucky that Durham have given me a few runs over the years. Playing the likes of Onions, whose career and my career have very much paralleled each other for a number of years; I’ve got a huge amount of respect for him both as a friend but also as a guy to play against.
“And you look at Wood and you look at Rushworth. You know when you go out there, if you’re not up for it against a Durham attack, then you’re never going to be up for it. I think I thrive on those moments a little bit.
“But in saying that I did have a bit of luck, so I could have been walking back on 10 or 20 – but you’ve got to take that. But yes, it does get you going. They’re a great team, a great bunch of lads and they play very, very hard on the field.”
He remains one of the finest batsmen in the county game. A re-energised Compton, with all of his experience and appetite for run scoring will be a huge boon to a Middlesex side as it pushes for honours. There is much still to come.
