Compton relieved at Lions call-up

Nick Compton admitted his relief at being named in the Lions squad and confessed that he thought his chance had gone.

The 28-year-old is one of the in-form county batsmen at present and has already scored 685 first-class runs - 449 in the Championship - this season. The selectors could not ignore his volume of runs and the Somerset opener has been recalled to the England second string for the first time in five years. He last played for the Lions in Bangladesh in 2006-07 but will line-up against the West Indies in a four-day match at Northampton, which begins on May 10. The former Middlesex batman passed the 1,000-run mark in first-class cricket last year and there were suggestions that he might have been included in the Lions squad over the winter. He failed to make it on that occasion but has been rewarded for his efforts in the early part of this season with scores of 236, 99, 133 and 204 not out to date at an average of 112.25. Compton admits is has been a dream start to the campaign and he was happy to get back into the international reckoning after such a long time out of the limelight. "The start to the season probably couldn't have gone better, to be honest, and the process and plan that I put in place, to spend a lot of time in the middle and hold things together, has held up strong so far. I'm delighted with the way it's gone," he said. "I went to Bangladesh in 2006-07 with England A and had a great time there - and in the years following that it felt like it was a million miles away." And the grandson of England legend Denis Compton was grateful to his county and coach for helping him climb back up the ladder. "I owe a lot of thanks to Somerset and director of cricket Brian Rose for the support and trust they've given to me," he added. "The role they've given me has really helped me to get back."