Published: Sep 24, 2019, 03:59 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 24, 2019, 03:59 PM (IST)
Dom Sibley‘s terrific show in County Championship earned him a maiden England call-up on Monday as he alongside three other rookies has made the cut for the New Zealand tour.
Warwickshire opener Sibley has been called up for racking up over 1300 runs this season with an average nearly touching 70.
A reliable opening pair has been England’s longstanding problem since the retirement of Andrew Strauss, something which they are still struggling with.
During the Ashes 2019, they paired Jason Roy and Joe Denly with Rory Burns but the issue persists which ultimately led them to Sibley. “It’s been a good year for myself and to get that call is really pleasing. “I am buzzing to be involved,” Sibley told Sky Sports.
Sibley, 24, has hit five centuries this season including two double-centuries. He watched the final day of the first Ashes Test in Edgbaston which only whetted his appetite. “I came on day five (of first Ashes Test). To feel the atmosphere and see the way cricket got so big over the summer during the World Cup and Ashes, makes you even more hungry to be part of it,” he recalled.
Sibley, who has 12 centuries and 20 fifties in first-class cricket, says his biggest strength is batting for long periods of time which he hopes to continue. “Batting for long periods of time is what I have done well this year but, to be fair, it’s something I have done since a young age and hopefully I can continue to do it,” he said.
