As Ben Stokes is going to miss the remainder of the ongoing Pakistan Test series, England’s opening batsman Dom Sibley said the players “must step up in the absence” of the ace all-rounder in order to maintain the balance to the team ahead of the second Test on Thursday (August 13).
Stokes is all set to miss the remaining two Test matches of the ongoing three-match Test series at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton against Pakistan to fly to his birth country New Zealand for family reasons and Dom said England team players would support the all-rounder in everything.
Sibley told reporters: “He’s a massive part of our team and one of the best players in the world but family comes first and we’re supporting him with everything that is going on. We’ll have to make do in his absence and people will have to step up.”
The hosts have won the first Test against Pakistan last week following a 2-1 success against the West Indies and Sibley is excited to know who will come in for Stokes in the remaining Tests. He also warned the hosts to be at their best to be able to cope with the impressive Pakistan attack in the ongoing series.
The right-hander further noted, “Winning the last game was brilliant and the balance of that side was the way we had it for the West Indies series. I’m not sure (who will come in for Stokes), I just train hard and do my thing to score as many runs as possible.”
Sibley signed off by saying, “It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of wicket we’ve got in Southampton... the conditions at Manchester were more suitable to their attack than what they might get here. They showed they have an impressive attack. They’ve got all the variety and the skills so we’ll have to be at our best to be able to cope with them.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
