Image courtesy of: The Telegraph
Compton was disappointed to have missed out on the historic series
Nick Compton’s exclusion from England’s Ashes squad has been met with mixed reviews from both pundits and former players, but Compton’s Somerset team-mate and ex-England opening batsman Marcus Trescothick believes it is only a matter of time before the 30-year-old is back in England colours again.
Compton last represented England during their Test series against New Zealand, where he could only muster a dismal 39 runs in four innings, which led to the national selectors replacing him with ‘Golden Boy’ Joe Root as captain Alastair Cook’s opening partner.
However, Trescothick noted that he was in favour of keeping Compton in the squad as he is a solid player, but also endorsed the opener to “bounce back”.
“I’m very disappointed for him,” Trescothick said. “I’d have carried on and seen how it goes at the start of the series and then made a change if needed, but that’s probably why I’m not a selector.
“I spoke to him on Monday just after he was told. It’s very tough to take for him. I explained to him that I made my England debut through an injury and there’s no reason why he can’t get back into the team the same way.
“I know how much he has been wanting to play in a big series like this. You grow up wanting to play in big games and big series, so to suddenly lose that is a major blow. But there is still time to make it happen. He can change things. If he carries on scoring runs, he’ll be the next in line.”
Trescothick is by no means taking sides in this debate, but merely judging Compton’s character and capabilities due to the fact that he has batted alongside the 30-year-old on numerous occasions for Somerset.
“He’s very strong,” Trescothick said. “So I think he will bounce back pretty quickly. He is a little bit misunderstood at times but once he gets his mind set on something he is very determined. He just has to do the only thing he has been doing: working hard, training hard and keep scoring runs.”
Trescothick also called on the selectors to consider picking Jos Buttler, who the veteran described as “an amazing talent, you have to stick with him” and also stated that pace bowler Jamie Overton has an excellent chance of making the national team “within six months to two years”.