I’ve just got to do it better: Nick Compton

32-year old England and Middlesex batsman Nick Compton has admitted that his place in the side is uncertain following yet another failure with the bat. Compton failed to get off the mark as he was removed by Dasun Shanaka, thus compounding his problems and making his place in the side all the more uncertain.

Compton made his first-class debut for Middlesex in 2004. However, despite decent performances with the bat, Compton wasn’t selected until the summer of 2012. He was dropped barely a year later after the Brits surrendered the Ashes to the pace of Mitchell Johnson.

Having forced his way back into the national setup with some astounding performances with the bat in domestic cricket, Compton received a call-up for the South Africa tour. However, despite smashing a valiant 85 at Durban, Compton simply failed to establish himself on the tour.

“Sure, definitely,” Compton noted when a question was posed related to his international future. “You’ve got to score runs. It all comes down to the weight of runs and performance. I’ve just got to do it better.

“We can talk beyond that about certain things but, fundamentally, if I do my job as well as I can and score the runs I know I can, I can contribute to this England team.”

Compton also added that he was indeed the old fashioned player who bided his time to wear the bowlers down. As well documented, Compton is a ‘black and white’ cricketer who plays the ball on merit.

“The way the game’s going, I think people are drawn towards a certain glamour,” he said. “Some players provide that and people want to see more of that.

“That’s great, we’re in the entertainment business. It’s about getting bums on seats and I suppose watching Ben Stokes’ 200 is better than watching Compton’s 80. If I’m honest with you, if I was sitting on the couch I’d rather watch Brian Lara, or my late grandfather, or Stokes. That’s what people want to see. I’m by no means unaware of that.

“When you look at it, my job is possibly a little bit tougher, it’s quite an intense role. The new ball is tough when you go in there and the way that I play doesn’t always look that pretty. But I feel like I have made the best of what I’ve been given.”

However, when the situation demanded it, Compton has been able to up the ante in the past. He smashed an audacious 81 against Australia at Taunton, something that has backed up his credentials as a dormant dasher.

“I don’t want to change my style,” he stated. “When you’re not playing well your style doesn’t look so great. It can be really hard work. But we have an exciting team of stroke-players and it’s my role to get myself in and try and shield some of those players from the new ball.

“I know deep inside me there’s a player in here who could change all those opinions very quickly. I’ve got shots. I’ve got things that I can do and I’ve got to allow them to come out.

“Unfortunately, until you do it and people see it in real life there’s no point in me saying anything else. Words are cheap and until you do it consistently there’s not much to be said,” Compton concluded.