Compton, Trott enjoy time in the middle

Cricket365
November 10, 2012

England batsman Nick Compton recorded his third fifty in a row on Saturday, as England finished day three of their tour match against Haryana on 118 for nought, leading by 306 runs.

Compton was on 54 off 11 balls at the end of the day, while Jonathan Trott, who opened to give Alastair Cook a rest, was on 61 off 117 balls, including 10 boundaries. Compton's knock all but ensured he would be given a starting place in the first Test against India, ahead of Joe Root.

England's bowlers were made to work for their wickets earlier in the day, but eventually managed to remove the remaining Haryana batsmen to leave the Indian side on 334 all out.

Rahul Dewan was the star for the home side, ending his innings on 144 not out after opening the knock, and faced 320 deliveries over the course of four hours in the middle. Stuart Meaker was the pick of the England bowlers, taking three wickets on the day.

Haryana started the day on 172 for four, with Dewan on 77 not out, chasing England's 521 from their first innings. Tim Bresnan removed Sandeep Singh with the score on 181, before Meaker did further damage.

The Surrey fast bowler was eager to show his worth ahead of the first Test, what with Steve Finn and Stuart Broad struggling with injuries. He got rid of Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav, before adding the scalp of Chanderpal Saini to his tally.

Haryana recorded a score over 300 for the first time since early 2011, so it was a testing time for England's back up bowlers, who looked a bit toothless without their regular pace trio of Finn, Broad and James Anderson. As it was, the final wicket was taken by part-time spinner Kevin Pietersen.

England chose to avoid enforcing the follow on in order to get some batting practice in, and Compton took full advantage of the chance against what is admittedly a mediocre attack.