Nick Compton

An elegant right-handed, former top-order English batsman, Nick Compton possessed solid technique with a monk-like temperament but never displayed a commanding show at the international level. 

Compton was born and brought up in Durban, South Africa, and shifted to England in his teenage years to pursue greater avenues in cricket. Compton joined Middlesex and was a consistent run-scorer in the U-19 squad winning the NBC Dennis Compton Award in 2001, which is conferred to the most promising Middlesex player for consistent performances in the U-19 and Second XI squad. On the back of his arrival in the domestic scene, he played for the England squad in the 2002 ICC U-19 World Cup.

Compton’s impressive run in 2006 saw him making it to the England A side for the tour of Bangladesh in 2006-07. Compton’s prolific run in the 2012 season, where he amassed 1,494 runs in First-Class cricket, helped him find a place in the national side and was included into the side for the tour to India in 2012-2013. He stitched many key partnerships at the top and helped their side register a historic series win over India. 

Riding on his performances in India, Compton earned a call to New Zealand tour, where he smashed his first Test century at Wellington and gave the impression that he was made for the big stage. After a magnificent run in New Zealand, he had an awful run against the same opposition at home. His bare runs column saw him being axed from the national side.

Struggling to find a reliable opening partner for Alastair Cook, Compton was called back into the Test squad for the tour of South Africa in November 2015 making his comeback after a gap of almost two years. Compton took an indefinite break from cricket after a terrible run against Sri Lanka in 2016 and failed to break into the international scene again. After featuring in 16 Tests for England, Compton announced retirement from all forms of cricket on October 4th, 2018.

(As of May 2021)