Nick Compton responded to being left out of the England squad for their upcoming warm-up match against Essex by scoring 81 runs for Somerset against Australia this afternoon.
The 29-year-old had opened the batting for England alongside skipper Alastair Cook during recent Test series against India and New Zealand, but having struggled to make runs in the home clashes with Kiwis, the selectors decided to drop him for the friendly fixture, thus making him a doubt for the Ashes.
However, he showed good form against the Aussies at the County Ground, getting to 19 runs short of a century before he was caught in the slips by Michael Clarke off the bowling of Nathan Lyon.
In Compton's absence, 22-year-old Joe Root will open up for England.
