Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
|
Post by Bazpan on Feb 20, 2018 23:20:45 GMT
Article in the Daily Mail apparently (print edition only), saying Nick Compton has been told by Angus Fraser that he won't be playing this season, which happens to be his benefit year. That bloke's face just doesn't seem to fit anywhere. I wonder if he told Middlesex he only wants to play red-ball cricket, so they said "Tell you what - you're not playing at all". Shall we have him at Kent? Might work out well as a replacement for Northeast. His stock isn't that high so he shouldn't cost too much, and he could still run his benefit.
Just by the by, how long before someone announces that they only want to play pink-ball cricket from now on?
|
|
|
Post by gmdf on Feb 21, 2018 9:33:55 GMT
As a red ball player he might be an asset, but an average or 26 in the CC last season does suggest that his bolt may be shot...
|
|
|
Post by Wicked Cricket on Feb 21, 2018 9:48:04 GMT
It can be so often the case when you're born into a famous sporting family. The pressure to achieve as much even more than your predecessors can be overwhelming. The Cowdreys met a similar fate.
|
|
Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
|
Post by Bazpan on Feb 21, 2018 23:35:40 GMT
I wouldn't go to war over Nick Compton, but I do think he's a serious batsman for whom things never seem to have quite fallen into place - possibly a little like Michael Carberry in that respect (good to see things are going his way).
Perhaps there's something in Compton's character that has stopped him fully realising his potential. You probably remember when he returned to the England team in early 2016 after three years away, and scored 85 and 49 in the 1st Test in South Africa. Trevor Bayliss said some complimentary things about Compton after that match, but it was distinctly qualified praise, and for some reason he felt compelled to add that "Ultimately I'd like to see two of the top three guys as attacking-style batters ... But if you haven't got them, you pick the best available". Bayliss seems to find that Test cricket doesn't really hold his attention. I dare say he'd even be happy to coach an international T20 side if the alternative was spending his days watching Nick Compton take two sessions to score 70. Anyway it was an unhelpful remark to make about a player not known to be brimming with self-assurance, who must have thought - briefly - that he had his Test career back on track after such a successful return to the team. Compton seemed unsure of what was required of him after that, and before long he faded out of Test cricket again.
Of course to succeed as a Test batsman you need to be tough enough mentally to just let your runs speak for you, and to ignore any sledging you get from the coach. Compton should have known that his job as a Test No. 3 was to anchor a side that routinely loses early wickets, not to keep Trevor Bayliss entertained. So (in my glib analysis!) he had his chances, but I just think his career might have been rather different with the benefit of more sensitive and supportive handling. Middlesex seem to have decided his career is pretty much over, but Compton might feel he has some unfinished business with cricket. If so, he's probably going to need a successful 2018 season on loan, which would hopefully lead to a proper contract from 2019 on. For reasons of geography (in his benefit year), and a vacant 1st XI slot and limited financial resources on Kent's part, we might suit each other well if he can convince the club of his motivation.
Admittedly that first-class average of 26 last season isn't that great, but Darren Stevens's career average was only 28 when he joined Kent. OK that doesn't mean a lot, but I see Compton has been playing first-class 3-day cricket in Sri Lanka, in a league that finished just a few days ago with him averaging 44 (the best in his team). His career average is still over 40, so I think he still has something to offer.
|
|
|
Post by burgesshill on Feb 22, 2018 8:52:58 GMT
Nick Compton isn't the kind of player who will want to grind on playing county cricket until he is 38. He has had one (maybe one and a half) eyes on a media career after he retires for some time now, and isn't short of money.
He's certainly made comments in the past about not wanting to 'just' be a county cricketer. A benefit this year persuaded him to hang on, but he won't play for England again. Whilst he could go out on loan, I reckon he'd sooner concentrate on the benefit year, and see how many guest spot commentator gigs he can get with Sky.
|
|
|
Post by gmdf on Feb 22, 2018 9:14:09 GMT
I wouldn't go to war over Nick Compton, but I do think he's a serious batsman for whom things never seem to have quite fallen into place - possibly a little like Michael Carberry in that respect (good to see things are going his way).
Perhaps there's something in Compton's character that has stopped him fully realising his potential. You probably remember when he returned to the England team in early 2016 after three years away, and scored 85 and 49 in the 1st Test in South Africa. Trevor Bayliss said some complimentary things about Compton after that match, but it was distinctly qualified praise, and for some reason he felt compelled to add that "Ultimately I'd like to see two of the top three guys as attacking-style batters ... But if you haven't got them, you pick the best available". Bayliss seems to find that Test cricket doesn't really hold his attention. I dare say he'd even be happy to coach an international T20 side if the alternative was spending his days watching Nick Compton take two sessions to score 70. Anyway it was an unhelpful remark to make about a player not known to be brimming with self-assurance, who must have thought - briefly - that he had his Test career back on track after such a successful return to the team. Compton seemed unsure of what was required of him after that, and before long he faded out of Test cricket again.
Of course to succeed as a Test batsman you need to be tough enough mentally to just let your runs speak for you, and to ignore any sledging you get from the coach. Compton should have known that his job as a Test No. 3 was to anchor a side that routinely loses early wickets, not to keep Trevor Bayliss entertained. So (in my glib analysis!) he had his chances, but I just think his career might have been rather different with the benefit of more sensitive and supportive handling. Middlesex seem to have decided his career is pretty much over, but Compton might feel he has some unfinished business with cricket. If so, he's probably going to need a successful 2018 season on loan, which would hopefully lead to a proper contract from 2019 on. For reasons of geography (in his benefit year), and a vacant 1st XI slot and limited financial resources on Kent's part, we might suit each other well if he can convince the club of his motivation.
Admittedly that first-class average of 26 last season isn't that great, but Darren Stevens's career average was only 28 when he joined Kent. OK that doesn't mean a lot, but I see Compton has been playing first-class 3-day cricket in Sri Lanka, in a league that finished just a few days ago with him averaging 44 (the best in his team). His career average is still over 40, so I think he still has something to offer. A very fair post. I too thought he was badly treated by Bayliss & England. I've also noticed that few of the No.3s tried since have done much better.
|
|