Nick Compton will look to kick-start his second spell at Middlesex when Durham visit Lord’s in the LV= County Championship.
Compton admits he is yet to hit top gear, albeit after just two Championship games, since his winter move to Lord's where his 85 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire in the opening game is easily his best return so far.
“I’ve got a few runs. It hasn’t quite clicked into place the way I would have liked it,” he told the ECB’s latest Podcast.
“You get an 85 and you would like to make that a hundred. Hundreds are the value we place as batsmen. When you get in you want to go big.”
Compton believes a tendency not to cash in when set was one of his failings during a largely prolific five-year stay at Somerset, during which time he earned nine Test caps.
He hopes a return to HQ will help him push on when such moments arrive.
“Probably a criticism of myself over the last couple of years, I think I have something like eight or nine nineties in the last couple of years,” he said.
“Looking back as a top-order batter you make those hundreds and it does reflect differently. It’s something I need to work on.
“I think that if I am a mainstay of the batting line-up and do a similar job to what I did for Somerset then hopefully being back at HQ and being back at Lord’s will give me a good chance at that.”
Middlesex will be buoyed for the visit of Durham following their stunning win at Taunton when they made 405 for five - the fourth highest fourth-innings chase in their history.
Adam Voges, who made a crucial contribution with 132, will be making his penultimate appearance as captain before joining Australia’s squad in the West Indies.
Steve Finn is available, with England’s squad for next Friday’s one-day international in Ireland not due to gather until Wednesday night, and is likely to team up with Tim Murtagh, who has recovered from the back twinge he suffered in Taunton, before they face each other in Malahide.
Durham return to Lord’s for the first time since their Royal London One-Day Cup triumph against Warwickshire last September, needing only six points to go top of the early-season Division One table with the leaders Sussex not in action this week.
Their coach Jon Lewis has named an unchanged 13 for the third consecutive match, but will hope to have Mark Wood available to strengthen his bowling options for next week’s home game against Nottinghamshire.
LV= County Championship Division One facts
Middlesex v Durham
- Durham have batted first in eight of their last nine Championship fixtures against Middlesex.
- Chris Rushworth has taken six wickets lbw this season, the joint-most with Tim Bresnan.
- Adam Voges has scored 714 runs in his 11 Championship innings for Middlesex (64.9 average).