Compton 'returns home' to Middlesex

Nick Compton, who has rejoined Middlesex on a three-year contract, has described returning to Lord's as like "a return home."

Compton, who last month announced his departure from Somerset despite having two years remaining on his contract, played for Middlesex between 2001 and 2009 and has previously announced a desire to return to London to pursue media opportunities and spend more time with his friends and family.

He also has a strong affinity for Lord's, where Middlesex play the majority of their home games, as it was the playing home of his grandfather, Denis Compton, and the ground features a stand bearing his name.

"As a boy I left my family home to move to London to play for Middlesex," Compton said. "Because of this, playing for the club at Lord's has and always will be close to my heart.

"Leaving Lord's to play for Somerset was a step in my development I felt I needed to make. The time I spent at Taunton was great for me. Whilst at Somerset I grew as a player and a person. I also fulfilled the dream of representing England, which is something I am determined to do again."

"Returning to Middlesex as a senior player is an exciting challenge for me. Lord's is the home of cricket and with my family ties here the time feels right to return home. The prospect of playing and scoring runs at Lord's has always excited me and hopefully I can come back and reproduce my best cricket here. By doing this I hope to play a key role in bringing success to Middlesex over the coming seasons."

While the England selectors appear to have washed their hands of Compton, he remains one of the most prolific batsmen in county cricket. He scored 5,140 first-class runs an average of 55.87 in his five years with Somerset and will provide a significant boost to a Middlesex batting line-up that scored fewer batting bonus points than any of the seven Division One sides that avoided relegation in 2014.

"Players of Nick's ability do not become available very often and when we were made aware of his desire to move back to London we immediately moved," Angus Fraser, Middlesex's managing director of cricket said. "With Chris Rogers hopefully playing for Australia next summer we needed to find a high quality top order batsman and in Nick we have secured the services of one.

"I was in charge at Middlesex when Nick left at the end of the 2009 season and, even though I could at the time totally understand his reasons for moving to Taunton, I was disappointed when he left. The move proved to be a good one for Nick - at Somerset he became an international cricketer. But it will be great to see him once again wearing a Middlesex cap and sweater, and I believe he has a lot to offer us both on and off the field over the course of the next five or six years."