Is C-X ESC ESC malfunctioning?

[d.henman]

Simple check.

While editting in the buffer, I checked the word count using

M-x count-words

This works well.  I then added some more text into the buffer and used the 
C-x ESC ESC  to rerun the command. "repeat-complex-command" 

But the following error is displayed in the mini-buffer.

"eval: Wrong type argument: integer-or-marker-p, nil"

I expected the C-x ESC ESC to perform without error just as if I entered the 
M-x count-words

What should be expected here?