COOK BACKS COMPTON
The captain of the England Cricket team, Alastair Cook, has made it clear that Nick Compton will open with him in the first test match against New Zealand which is going to start from 6th of March at University Oval, Dunedin.
Compton’s performance as an opener in the test series against India was average. There were speculations that Joe Root might replace him as an opener in the first test match against the Kiwis, but, the England skipper told the reporters today that the England team management wants to give more opportunities to Compton.
When asked who will open with him in the first test match, Cook said, “It’s Nick Compton who will be my opening partner in the first test match. Nick batted quite well under the unfamiliar conditions in India. Although, he didn’t play big knocks but, his contributions at the top of the order were really useful. He really deserves another opportunity.”
When asked if his team is confident after winning the ODI series, Cook said, “The win in the ODI series has certainly boosted our confidence, but, test matches are completely different. We need to show a bit more application as a batting unit in the test series. They have got some fine swing bowlers and in these conditions, they can really do a lot of damage.”
When asked about the failure of Kevin Pietersen in both the innings of the warm up match against New Zealand XI, Cook said, “That’s not much of a worry for us. KP had been out of cricket for a month or so. That’s why; he didn’t look that fluent in the warm up match. He just has to spend a bit of time in the middle and he will start hitting the ball fluently.”