I'd rather watch Ben Stokes bat for England than watch me too, admits Nick Compton

England No 3 realises he is not pretty - but says he has a job to do for the team

Nick Compton scores at two runs an over in international cricket (Getty)

Nick Compton didn’t quite call himself a dinosaur when he spoke at a chilly Chester-le-Street on Wednesday but the England batsman admits he is a dying breed in the modern game.

The 32-year-old batsman’s international career itself is perhaps close to extinction unless he can make a significant score when the second Investec Test against Sri Lanka starts here at Durham on Friday. However, as his England future reaches crisis point, he is in no mood to compromise on a method even he concedes can be boring to watch.

In an era where the influence of Twenty20 is threatening to become total, Compton’s staid, methodical and conservative batting style jars with the prevailing mood. If Ben Stokes, unfortunately injured for his home Test here, is a player who empties bars and toilets when he comes out to bat, the opposite is true of England’s No 3.

“The way the game’s going, I think people are drawn towards a certain glamour,” Compton said. “Some players provide that and people want to see more of that. That’s great, we’re in the entertainment business, it’s about getting bums on seats and I suppose watching Ben Stokes’ 200 is better than watching Compton’s 80.

“If I’m honest with you, if I was sitting on the couch I’d rather watch Stokes’ 200. I’m by no means unaware of that. That’s what people want to see. But when you look at my job, the new ball is tough and the way that I play doesn’t always look that pretty. But I don’t want to change my style. I think when you’re not playing well your style doesn’t look so great but when you are it feels good inside, you feel that confidence. I’ve been there before so I know what I’m looking for. But words are cheap.”

Many would be surprised to see Compton survive beyond this series. Picked for the first Test despite a far-from-stellar series in South Africa last winter, his form for Middlesex this summer, for whom his top score is 44, has been even worse. So, a three-ball duck during England’s innings win at Headingley last week was evidence of a man who is not only out of form but who appears affected by the criticism of his performances.

It’s about getting bums on seats and I suppose watching Ben Stokes’ 200 is better than watching Compton’s 80

&#13; <p>Nick Compton in self-deprecating mood</p>&#13;

In an England team whose modus operandi is now to entertain and play with freedom, Compton often looks as though he is batting in a straight jacket. “I know deep inside me there’s a player in here who could change all those opinions very quickly but unfortunately until you do it and people see it in real life there’s no point in me saying anything else,” he admitted.

“That’s where I think there’s a hunger and a desire to go out there and really show how well I can play. And if I do that I’m pretty confident a lot of those views will change. A lot of those people are good players and are entitled to their opinion – and if I was a pundit maybe I’d have those views too.

“But all I can focus on right now is not worrying about all that noise, but making sure I’m really on the number.”

Asked if he was now playing for his Test future, Compton admitted: “Yeah, sure. Definitely. I don’t know the actual answer to that but you’ve got to score runs. I got nought at Headingley, I did OK in South Africa.

“I want to score runs but I want to do it because I want to feel good. I want to feel good about my batting and I want to feel good about contributing to the England team. Those are my driving motivations.

“Selection and stuff, sure: if you don’t play well enough you get dropped. That’s fundamentally how it works. I would love to have got some runs in the first Test. That was my plan. I wasn’t quite on it. It was disappointing but it was good to win in that fashion.”

When you speak to Compton, you get the feeling he is a player who almost wants to succeed too much. This is his second, and most likely, last chance to succeed at this level following his first spell in 2012-13 when he was chosen as captain Alastair Cook’s opening partner and actually did reasonably well, scoring two Test centuries.

Yet his famed ‘intensity’ was said to be a problem then both in the dressing-room and out in the middle. Compton’s intense nature has again been talked about widely since his Test recall for last winter’s tour of South Africa. It’s an area he’s keen to discuss – rather intensely as it turns out.

“The word ‘intense’ needs to be used correctly. A balance is important. Maybe I get that balance wrong sometimes. But I have a professional intensity, I do. I pride myself on my professionalism, my preparation and on the job that I do. Away from the cricket environment I don’t think I’m intense - I play golf, I’ve got good mates, I go out for dinner, I do normal things.

“When it comes to my profession, I’ve found the role and the job that I do is quite intense. I feel like I have made the best of what I’ve been given.”

Whether Compton’s best is going to be good enough to see him become a successful Test cricketer remains to be seen. The feeling, though, is it just might not be.

Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking