Denis Compton

Early years

Compton was born and brought up in what was then the urban district of Hendon, which later became part of Greater London; his father had moved there in hopes of finding more work. He was the second son and youngest child of Henry Ernest Compton, a self-employed painter and decorator, later a lorry driver when his business failed, and Jessie Anne (née Duthie); he had one elder brother, Leslie Harry (1912–1984) and one elder sister, Hilda Dorothy (1913–2002). He was educated at Bell Lane Primary School and joined the MCC ground staff at Lord's Cricket Ground at the age of 15. The previous summer he had begun to make a name for himself when, at that same venue, he scored 114 as captain of an Elementary Schools XI, impressing Test selector Sir Pelham Warner. By the late 1930s, Compton was one of England's most successful batsmen, and remained at the top of his profession for twenty years. As an all-rounder Compton was a right-hand bat and a slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler. Compton earned his first England cap against New Zealand in 1937. At 19 years and 83 days, he remains the third youngest England debutant ever. He scored his first Test century aged just 20 years and 19 days in 1938 against Don Bradman's touring Australians. This broke the record, set by J. W. Hearne in 1911, for the youngest Test century by an England batsman, and remains the record to this day. Later in the same series he scored a match-saving 76 not out at Lord's; this innings was…

Compton also played football, beginning his career at non-league Nunhead in the 1933–34 season before joining Arsenal. While playing as a winger, he made his debut in 1936, taking up the number 11 jersey at the club. Arsenal won the league championship (old First Division) in 1937–38, but Denis Compton did not get a medal since he had made only 7 appearances that season. Compton was eventually successful with Arsenal at Highbury, winning the League title in 1948 and the FA Cup in 1950. However, the latter part of his sporting career was dogged by injury after his right knee was damaged in a collision with the goalkeeper of Charlton Athletic. He was thus limited to 60 official, i.e. non-wartime appearances, scoring 16 goals altogether. He represented England in wartime games on twelve occasions, but never in a full official match. He also appeared in the Rovers Cup in India with a visiting British team.

Compton's elder brother Leslie also played cricket for Middlesex and football as a defender for Arsenal and England. Compton was married three times. His first wife was Doris Rich, a dancer. They married at St John's Wood on 1 March 1941 and had a son, Brian (born 2 January 1942). With his second wife, Valerie Platt, Compton had two sons, Patrick and Richard, both of whom were born in England but brought up by their mother in South Africa after 1960. Both of them went on to play cricket for Natal. In 1975, Compton married his third wife, Christine Franklin Tobias, with whom he had two daughters, Charlotte and Victoria. His grandson Nick, son of Richard, made his Test debut against India at Ahmedabad during the England cricket team's 2012–13 tour of India.

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 158 and 71. Nevertheless, England lost by three wickets. 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". In typical form, at his brother Leslie's benefit match in 1955, he managed to run Leslie 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 County Cricket Club in 1991. He served two terms, until a week before his death from septicaemia in Windsor, Berkshire aged 78. Compton's death, on Saint George's Day, coincided with the opening of the 1997 County Championship season, and pavilion flags across the…