Dom Sibley Has Taken His Game To The Next Level: Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has heaped high praise on the young opener, Dom Sibley, following his patient 286-ball 87 against India in the first innings of the ongoing series opener at Chepauk.

Sibley showed exemplary patience and discipline on the first day as he blunted the Indian bowling-unit during his 286 ball vigil.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain reckoned that Sibley’s approach reminded him of former England opening duo of Sir Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss.

“Sibley offers the kind of approach to opening the batting that the Test side have not seen since Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss. I really admire the route England have chosen in selecting players such as Sibley who occupy the crease and look to build innings,” wrote Nasser Hussain.

Dom Sibley stitched a 200-run-stand with his skipper Joe Root, who once again displayed his mastery on how to tackle spin bowling in the subcontinent.

Hussain said that Joe Root has been a great example to the young opener.

“On Friday, he showed several — a couple of variations of the sweep, a willingness to come down the pitch to clip through midwicket and opening the face of the bat to hit through the offside… He’s no longer getting caught in that batting no-man’s land. He is either fully forward smothering the ball, or rocking back to cut or punch through the offside. Root is a great example to Sibley, proof that whether you’ve played 10 Test matches or 100 the best international players are constantly looking at areas for improvement,” added Hussain.

Dom Sibley registered three consecutive single-digit scores in Sri Lanka before he shrugged off his poor form with a brilliant half-century in the fourth innings of the second Test.

He has carried his form to India and Hussain believes that he has taken his game to the next level.

“He didn’t try to sweep Ashwin, a difficult stroke to play against him at the best of times because of the over spin and bounce he generates. He simply waited for India’s less experienced bowlers, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar, to come on, happy to attack them with sweeps and use of his feet. You cannot be passive against all five bowlers because the innings goes nowhere. But Sibley’s tactical judgment of when and against whom to take risks was an example of how he has taken his game on to another level this winter,” said Hussain.

Also Read: India vs England 2021: Joe Root Becomes Second Captain To Score Three Successive 150-Plus Runs