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Out-of-form Compton feels the heat

England No.3 under pressure to keep his place heading into second Test against Sri Lanka

England's under-siege No.3 Nick Compton knows his Test future is on the line in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham this week.

England won the low-scoring series opener by an innings and 88 runs inside three days last week at Headingley and Compton's three-ball duck heaped pressure on the batsman, who has now gone 13 first-class innings without passing 50. 

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The 32-year-old agreed his England career is hanging in the balance when pressed by the local press pack on Wednesday.

"I don't know the actual answer to that but you've got to score runs. I want to score runs but I want to do it because I want to feel good," Compton told reporters.

"I want to feel good about my batting and I want to feel good about contributing to the England team. Those are my driving motivations.

"If you don't play well enough you get dropped. That's fundamentally how it works. I want to get that good feeling I know is inside there about playing my best cricket.

"That's what I want to do: play my best cricket in this England team."

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Despite his struggles and an average of 30.16 after 14 Tests, Compton, in his second incarnation as an England batsman, said the team was determined to wrap up the series at Chester-le-Street.

"We've got to build on the first Test. It was great to be part of that win – to win a Test in three days is fantastic," he said.

"It would have been nice to score some runs in the first Test but there's been some quality preparation and that's where my focus is, so when I get my chance I'm really on it."

Compton insisted complacency would not set in despite the crushing nature of the win.

"I think we're a team that feels confident but realise we've got another Test on our hands – and every Test is tough," he added.

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The right-hander also had some words of consolation for the Sri Lankans, who were routed by James Anderson and Stuart Broad in typically overcast conditions in Leeds.

"I think the English batsmen, facing Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson in these conditions, would find them pretty tough," he said.

"We've got home advantage, they are going to want to adjust and look at some of the replays of the conditions at Headingley and build on it. They're a young team."

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