The Times Sport - UK (2020-07-18)

Sport England v West Indies: Second Test

4 1GS Saturday July 18 2020 | the times

Dominic Sibley admitted before play
that he had not slept well. That is not as
unusual as it might sound for a batsman
who has batted throughout the
previous day.
Sleep can be elusive in such circum-
stances as your innings is replayed time
and time again in your mind. It is not so
much the nerves — which Sibley in-
deed confessed to, as he sought 14 more
runs for a second Test century — but
the fact that the mind finds it hard to
stop the constant process of concentra-
tion and relaxation (or turning the
volume down, as Graham Gooch has
always described the mental method he
used in between balls) after having
done it for such a long period of time.
But tired or not, Sibley’s mind was
functioning magnificently yesterday.
For it is undoubtedly the strongest part
of the 24-year-old opener’s game. He is
remarkably resilient.
To bat as the Warwickshire player
does in this T20-obsessed era requires a

Sleepless Sibley proves that

run-scoring is all in the mind

certain amount of bloody-mindedness

for a start. Everyone likes to fit in with

the crowd. To stand out and be different

demands courage. To do so with a tech-

nique that is like no other we have seen

points to an exceptional character.

Sibley simply seems imperturbable.

Batsmen mostly possess much more

complicated personalities than they

dare admit and they usually take the

criticisms very personally. It is why

batting in Test cricket these days is so

difficult, especially in England where

on television Sky Sports do a brilliant

but often forensic job. We writers have

our censorious say too. You are

constantly being picked apart and only

the most strong-willed can deal with it,

sometimes using it as motivation and

even a fuel for improvement.

Many collapse under the pressure, as

we have seen with the litany of batsmen

who have come and gone from the

England Test top order in recent years.

And I will freely admit that I expect-

ed Sibley to do the same. His technique,

standing with an open chest — after the

freelance batting coach Gary Palmer,

who has some different ideas, advised

so as to arrest a slump in form in 2018 —

with hands thrusting incongruously

towards gully, is ugly. When I was first

sent a video of him batting I thought he

was facing a left-arm seamer bowling

over the wicket given his stance but it

was in fact a right-armer bowling over

the wicket.

The bat face is often closed and his

feet often cross over. He struggles to

keep the short ball down on the leg side

because of that crossover and also

because his hands are rarely tight to his

body. Australia may test that in their

own back yard when England go down

under next year.

It just shouldn’t work. Trying to copy

it would probably be useless for most

young batsmen. Many unorthodox-

looking batsmen are not actually that

unorthodox, once the tics and shuffles

are done. Steve Smith is a good example.

The basics of Smith’s game, especially

as the ball is released, are excellent, but

that is not necessarily the case with Sib-

ley. But then that is the beauty of crick-

et. It can accommodate all sorts. There

are a number of basics that most bats-

men need but individuality has its place

and indeed should be encouraged.

So how does Sibley score runs? First,

because he has an incredibly clear plan

of how he is going to play. He is never

going to be especially prolific on the off

side by dint of his method, so he does

not try to score there too often. He

leaves the ball quite superbly — we can

Steve

James
Sibley and Stokes’s partnership was
the second longest in terms of balls
for England this century

574 balls

Stuart Broad and Jonathan Trott,

332 for eighth wicket v Pakistan,

Lord’s 2010.

568 balls

Dominic Sibley and Ben Stokes,

260 for fourth v West Indies, Old

Trafford 2020

516 balls

Andrew Strauss and Marcus

Trescothick, 273 for first wicket v

South Africa, Durban 2004

514 balls

Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott,

329 for second wicket v Australia,

Brisbane 2010

509 balls

Nick Compton and Alastair Cook,

231 for first wicket v New Zealand,

Dunedin 2013

An epic partnership

Sibley plays through his favoured leg