Yep. People who didn't watch the game will look at this scorecard and think that giving the award to a bowler who took four wickets in a draw was weird, but it was his great spell more than anything that really took India out of the game. England's second innings could've been completely different with some scoreboard pressure, not to mention the better rate India could've made those runs at if Anderson didn't dismiss Sehwag for a duck.
Compton has secured a place?
He hasn't been amazing, but considering the performances of England's batsmen this year, particularly in Asia, he did OK. Certainly worth preserving with, and I wouldn't say he's not test class, since he made starts in nearly every game. He's supposedly a much better player of seam than spin as well, or at least has much more scoring shots and options.
I agree he's done alright, but from what I know of both batsmen they will fail in the next few tests. Thats my prediction. Root is a good long-term option though.
I'd go with
I can definitely see sense in Root going up to open for the New Zealand series, but I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable with changing something that worked reasonably well here. I'd be inclined to give Compton a go at the top of the order for New Zealand, and see how it goes. The likelihood is that one of them will fail anyway and the conundrum will solve its self. But I wouldn't complain if they went the other way.
