Former Australia all-rounder Mark Waugh has said that England opener Dom Sibley is not a Test batsman and he wonders how the opener has reached that level.
Despite scoring two centuries against West Indies and South Africa, Dom Sibley has been inconsistent and has failed to set to stage on fire for England at the international level.
In 20 Tests so far, Dom Sibley has scored 985 runs at an average of 30.78 and in the recently concluded two-Test series against New Zealand, the right-handed batsman made a half-century at Lord’s after registering a duck in the first innings and then made 43 runs in a losing effort at the Edgbaston.
Speaking on the Road to the Ashes podcast, former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh said that there’s no depth in England’s batting line-up in Test cricket.
He slammed openers Dom Sibley and Rory Burns for their approach, saying that the former can’t open the batting as he does not seem like a Test player and he fails to understand how he reached this level.
“There’s just no quality there. I don’t know why there’s no depth in batting in the English line-up. To me, James Vince is not a bad player. I know he’s played 13 Tests, but he’s got a touch of class. Someone like Dom Sibley, can’t score.
“You can’t come to Australia with Burns and Sibley opening the batting, because they can’t score. He hasn’t got any shots, Dom Sibley. He’s not a Test player, and quite frankly I don’t know how he got to that level. There’s got to be a shortage of players there,” Mark Waugh said.
Waugh said that Dom Sibley and Rory Burns are not stroke-makers and can only blunt the new ball, which puts immense pressure on their middle-order.
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“Dom Sibley, I just don’t know how he can play Test cricket. As a bowler, you worry about batsmen that can hurt you. No one’s thought of this. The England middle-order is suffering because all the bowlers who play against England have got their tail up and confidence up because they are not getting hurt by Burns and Sibley.
“They can’t punish them, they can’t hurt them on any level. All they can do is survive and see off the shine. That’s no good. You have to put pressure on the bowler, and these two can’t do that," he concluded.
England’s next assignment is the five-Test series against India and then Ashes in Australia later this year. It would interesting to see if Dom Sibley retains his place in the side.
(India today inputs)
