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English
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England
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Eng
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Denis Compton
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Compton bio 2006 editionjpg
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Right-handed batsman (RHB)
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Slow Left-arm Chinaman (SLC)
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78
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5807
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5006
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17/28
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278
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2710
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25
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5639
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1
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0
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5/70
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49/0
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515
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38942
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5185
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123/183
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300
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36640
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622
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3227
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19
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3
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7/36
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416/0
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14 August
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1937
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5 March
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1957
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CBE (born
23 May ,
1918 in
Hendon ,
Middlesex , died
23 April ,
1997 in
Windsor ,
Berkshire ) was an
English Cricketer and
Footballer . By the late
1930s he was a leading England
Batsman and remained at the top of his profession for almost three decades. His dashing approach to batting and the sheer enjoyment he exuded endeared him to a generation of cricket lovers. As an all-rounder Compton was a right hand bat and a
Slow Left Arm Chinaman Bowler .
One of the few people to be both a cricket and a football international, he, together with his brother
Leslie , also enjoys the remarkable distinction of being the only individual to be a member of both the champion
County side -
Middlesex CCC - and the Cup-winning club -
Arsenal FC in a single calendar year - 1950.
In
1947 he thrilled a war weary English public by breaking record after record in scoring 3816 runs; he scored 18 centuries. 753 of those runs came against the touring
South Africans . This season was the summit of a glittering career that began on the ground staff at
Lord's ; selection for
Middlesex followed in
1936 and
England the following year.
He scored his first
Test century as a precocious 19 year old in
1938 against
Don Bradman 's touring
Australians . Later in the same series he scored a match saving 76 not out at Lord's; this innings was scored on a rain affected
Pitch and greatly impressed Don Bradman. In
1939 he scored 2468 runs for the season, including 120 against the
West Indies at Lord's.
As with many other sportsman of his generation he lost some of his best years to the
Second World War , during which he served in the army in
India . It was in India, however, that he began his close friendship with his Australian counterpart as test cricketer, footballer and national hero,
Keith Miller , who was in the
RAAF and flying out of
Calcutta . They faced each other several times on the cricket pitch, including during the famously high-scoring 1944
Ranji Trophy final between
Holkar , Compton's team, and
Bombay ; and Miller was in the
Slip s during the match at
Calcutta beween the Australian Services and East Zone that was interrupted by rioting when Compton was on 94. One of the rioters who had invaded the pitch ran up to Compton and said "Mr Compton, you very good player, but the match must stop now", which Miller gleefully repeated whenever Compton came to the
Crease subsequently.
In recognition of their friendship and rivalry, the player adjudged the best of the series in the
Ashes wins the
Miller-Compton Trophy .
1946 saw England touring Australia, and although beaten by the powerful Australian team, Compton distinguished himself by scoring a century in each innings at the
Adelaide Test.
Back in England in
1947 he had his glorious season, thereafter he remained a wonderful adornment to the game of cricket until his retirement in
1956 /
1957 . He finished his cricket career after playing 78 Test matches with 17 centuries at an average of 50.06. In all
First-class Cricket he scored 123 centuries.
Compton also played football, spending his entire career at
Arsenal . A
Winger , he made his debut in
1936 , and won the
League in
1948 and the
FA Cup in
1950 . However, the latter part of his sporting career was dogged by knee trouble, the knee had been damaged in a collision with the
Charlton goalkeeper; he was limited to 60 official (i.e. non-wartime) appearances and 16 goals. He represented
England in wartime 12 times, but never in a full official match.
Compton jointly captained
Middlesex CCC between
1951 and
1952 , with
W.J.Edrich .
They were honoured with the creation of the Edrich and Compton stands at the Nursery End in
Lord's Cricket Ground .
Compton's absent-mindedness was legendary.
Colin Cowdrey writes that Compton turned up for the
Old Trafford Test of 1955 against South Africa without his kitbag. Undaunted, he sauntered into the museum and borrowing an antique bat off the display, went on to score 155 and 79 not out.
This absent-mindedness was particularly obvious in his tendency to run out his partners at the crease;
Trevor Bailey declared that 'a call for a run from Compton should be treated as no more than a basis for negotiation.' Typically, at his brother Leslie's benefit match in 1955, he managed to run him out before he had faced a single ball.
Peter Parfitt , the Middlesex and England batsman, was a speaker at a major celebration in London for Compton`s 70th birthday. He claims that the chief guest was called to the telephone by a lady who had heard about the dinner: eventually, he agreed to take the call. "Denis," she said, "it`s me, your mother. You`re not 70, you`re only 69."
After retiring from sport, Denis Compton became a
Journalist and later a
Commentator for
BBC Television . He was made a CBE in
1958 . He became the first former professional cricketer to be elected President of Middlesex CCC in
1991 . He served two terms, until a week before his death in
Windsor ,
Berkshire aged 78.
His brother
Leslie also played cricket for Middlesex and football for Arsenal and England.
