England batsman Nick Compton must think more positively about his stroke play, says Michael Holding

Michael Holding

Cricket Expert & Columnist

Saturday 28 May 2016 15:25, UK

Nick Compton needs to adopt a more positive approach to his batting going forward if England's No 3 wants to save his Test career, according to Sky Sports pundit Michael Holding.

The Middlesex batsman made just nine runs from 34 balls on day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Emirates Riverside as the home side closed on 310-6.

However, after also failing in England's comprehensive first Test win at Headingley last week when making a three-ball duck, the pressure is now very much on Compton's shoulders going into his second innings in Durham.

Holding, however, thinks Compton should be more aggressive the next time he walks to the wicket, with the former West Indies paceman using compatriot Lawrence Rowe's past difficulties for his country as an example of how to hit your way into form.

"People have been saying that maybe he needs to change the way he bats," Holding told Sky Sports. "There are two viewpoints.

"I remember years ago when Lawrence Rowe was having struggles in the Caribbean and he was not getting any runs. He went out there against England blazing one afternoon and got something like 47 or 48 in quick time. And then he came back and got a triple century.

"Greg Chappell went through a similar situation in Australia in the Eighties and they asked Greg, when he did eventually get some runs, if he ever thought about going out and throwing his bat.

"And he said: 'No, that is not the way I have ever batted. I just decided to keep on batting the way I know how to bat and eventually the runs will come.'

"Well Compton may need to start thinking a little more positively about his stroke play, because he goes out there in this defensive mode. And I think he is putting a lot of pressure on himself by being in that defensive mode.

"He needs to loosen up a bit. Do not go out and throw the bat, but loosen up a bit."

Mahela Jayawardena, meanwhile, agrees with his fellow Sky Sports pundit and the one-time Sri Lanka captain believes Compton is placing himself under too much pressure when going out to bat.

"You felt that he was on a mission after he got out in the first Test match caught behind," he said of the right-hander who has been out for scores of 15, 26, 0, 19, 6, 0 and 9 in his last seven Test innings.

"So his focus was on trying to get forward and making sure that he controls that.

"And you could see his intent of playing forward all the time. Then all of a sudden the short ball came out of nowhere because he was not prepared.

"You need to be going with the flow, rather than putting yourself under pressure, by batting with a plan.

"It probably was a planned thing from the Sri Lankans, but he was not ready for that short ball and he took it on.

"So he just needs to clear his mind and bat the way he bats naturally and be more positive."

One England player who is not struggling for runs so far this summer is opener Alex Hales, who made an impressive 83 on day one at the Riverside, his second score in the eighties after falling 14 runs short of a century in Leeds last week.

However, Jayawardena feels the Nottinghamshire batsman must now take the next step up by recording that elusive maiden Test ton in order to make him feel like he belongs at the highest level of the game.

"He needs to get that hundred, as once you get that, you feel you belong in Test cricket," he said.

"He has found a way to control his innings and tempo, but once he gets those big runs under his belt, then he can start to control his innings better. The longer he spends time there, he will find a way to control his tempo better."

Jayawardena, though, has urged Hales to "carry on playing his natural game", despite the Englishman once again getting dismissed playing an attacking shot against a spinner, as he also did at Headingley.

Either way, Holding thinks Hales is demonstrating just why England coach Trevor Bayliss picked him for the tour of South Africa and then kept faith with the opener after his lean time with the bat during the winter.

"When he didn't do that well in South Africa a lot of people, including myself, we're saying 'he doesn't really look like he is going to make it at Test level'. England knew exactly what he could produce - and he is now producing.

"When he came into the side people spoke about his possibly being a dasher, but he hasn't batted that way in Test cricket as he realises it isn't going to work. He dug in at Leeds when wickets were tumbling around him.

"And now he is showing why the selectors showed faith in him. They knew what he could produce and so it's good to see he can adapt."