Ben Compton's stunning breakthrough for Kent at the age of 28 offered fresh hope to a generation of late-developing county cricketers. Compton, grandson of Denis and cousin of Nick, had become accustomed to rejection, trialling unsuccessful at a number of counties despite mountains of runs for Richmond and Wimbledon in the Middlesex League, and failed to make the grade at Nottinghamshire, released after two seasons at Trent Bridge.

But Kent saw something they liked: specifically, a left-hander batter in a squad dominated by right-handers, and a player who had shown the grit to complement the strokemakers in their misfiring batting line-up. They offered him a two-year deal in October 2021 and watched with interest as he travelled to Zimbabwe to play for Mountaineers - a contract set up by Dave Houghton - and saw him make two first-class hundreds and two more in List A cricket.

He started the 2022 season in remarkable form, hitting hundreds in each of his first three innings for Kent - including twin hundreds in a defeat against Lancashire, last man out in Kent's follow-on after carrying his bat in the first innings. He reached 1,000 red-ball runs before the end of May - though only 878 of them were first-class, with his scores of 39 and 119 against New Zealand in a warm-up match for the County Select XI not granted that status.

ESPNcricinfo staff