Compton ‘fried’ mentally before drought-ending century

Middlesex batsman Nick Compton expressed relief at his first century in almost a year after describing himself as “totally fried” during his bad run of form.

Compton hit 131, his best score in any form of the game since September, as Middlesex pressed home their advantage with another dominant day against Durham on Sunday.

Nick Gubbins made 145 and shared in a mammoth stand of 247 with Compton as the home side moved 204 runs ahead, with four wickets in hand.

For Compton it marked the end of a series of low scores, which led to him being dropped from the England team and taking a break from the game to refresh his mind.

“I’d not been in bad form like that for the previous eight years,” he said.

“At one stage I felt totally fried and it felt like batting left-handed literally might have been a better option.

“It almost felt like going back to getting my first ever hundred if I’m honest.”

Resuming on 100-1, in response to Durham’s below-par 204, Compton and Gubbins batted until 4.06pm, when the latter fenced at Mark Wood’s lifting leg-cutter to be caught at slip by Scott Borthwick.

Having waited 80 overs for a breakthrough, Durham needed only three more before Dawid Malan (5) was caught behind off Graham Onions.

Compton grew in confidence as his innings went on, but his vigil ended after tea as he chopped on against Onions.

John Simpson, in trying to up the tempo, nicked a push drive to second slip while Paul Stirling’s cameo 43 took the Middlesex score beyond 400.