Kent opener Ben Compton looks to repeat successes from his breakthrough season in 2023
Published: 05:00, 31 March 2023
Updated: 10:28, 31 March 2023
It will be a case of evolution rather than revolution for Kent opener Ben Compton this summer.
Compton enjoyed an incredible first full season with Matt Walker’s side in 2022 which saw him score more than 1,000 County Championship Division 1 runs and five half-centuries on the Spitfires’ way to Royal London One-Day Cup glory.
He predicts England’s new attacking "Bazball" style under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes could filter down into the county game.
But Compton won’t totally go away from his more defensive technique which brought him so much success.
He said: “We will probably see what’s happened for England Cricket filter down into county cricket. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.
“But I don’t necessarily think me changing my game is going to do me much good.
"I certainly feel I’ve done some work to expand it.
“But changing it? No.
"I’ve expanded it in certain parts. That’s all situational.
“I think that’s where people may get slightly misguided in this ‘Bazball’ type era, where they just think it’s fifth gear from the get-go. It’s not that.
“They do bide their time at times and they do earn the right.
"I interpret that as having the freedom to be positive - in whichever way that player sees fit.”
Compton, who extended his Kent contract until the end of next season on Christmas Day, continued his red-hot form in the winter as he played for Mountaineers in Zimbabwe's first-class domestic competition, the Logan Cup.
He said: “I got some time out in the middle and played for the same team that I did last year, which was great.
“It’s just great to be playing cricket.
"It’s much better than being stuck in the snow and the dark!
“It was really nice to get away but, obviously, it’s fantastic to be back and everybody is really excited.”
Compton also spent time with former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten, who has coached his national team and India.
“He’s a busy guy so I was just very happy to get any kind of time with him,” he said.
“He’s just a very wise man. He’s not only a former player himself but he’s worked with so many teams around the world.
"He has a breadth of experience I could draw from.
“I really enjoyed that. He’s a chilled-out guy and nice to work with, so it was good.”
Compton, who turned 29 on Wednesday, would love to replicate last season’s form this time around but knows he’ll have to work extremely hard if he’s to enjoy anything like that kind of success.
“That would be lovely,” he noted.
“But that all came from an accumulation of efforts.
“It’s all well and good saying ‘I’d like to do that again’ - I worked very hard to do that last year.
"It’s going to take a lot of effort, a lot of guts and a lot of skill to try and do that - not just personally - but also to provide a platform that allows Kent to get off to a good start.
“That’s the emphasis and the goal.”
Compton is also eager to work with Indian international seam bowler Arshdeep Singh when he arrives at Kent when he’s due to be available to play in June and July.
While Singh has a great record in the shorter-format of the game, he has little four-day experience.
Compton, meanwhile, impressed in the longer format last year but has shown interest in breaking into Kent’s T20 side as well.
Asked if the pair could learn off one another, he replied: “I think he’s achieved a lot more in T20 cricket than I have in the four-day game, so that’s very kind of you!
“But that’s the strength of a team.
"Everybody has their strengths and we’ll certainly try to learn from each other.”
Compton only scored three runs in Kent's friendly against Essex at Canterbury before he was caught by former England captain Alastair Cook off the bowling of namesake Sam Cook.
Play wasn't possible on Wednesday and Friday, the visitors declaring on 144/4 before Kent got to 94/4 in reply.
More by this author
Thomas Reeves