The opener was 86no as England reached 207-3 on day one at Emirates Old Trafford
Friday 17 July 2020 17:18, UK
One hundred and sixty-four balls.
That is how long it took Dom Sibley to reach his half-century on day one at Emirates Old Trafford.
It wasn't exciting, it wasn't pretty and it wasn't the kind of innings that will have had swathes of cricket fans wishing they could have been in the ground to see it.
For England though, given their well-publicised troubles at the top of the order, it was a significant moment. It is the first time since Alastair Cook's farewell Test in 2018 that an England opener has made half-centuries in successive innings.
Sibley gritted his way to 50 in the second innings at the Ageas Bowl, taking 161 balls to reach the milestone on that occasion, and he frustrated the West Indies again on a gloomy day in Manchester.
With England wobbling slightly at 29-2, Sibley put on 52 with captain Joe Root to limit the damage. The skipper fell but Sibley's game remained unchanged, he just knuckled down and built another important partnership with Ben Stokes.
By the close they had put on 126 and Sibley was just 14 shy of a second Test match century.
His plan is a simple one, highlighted by Nasser Hussain below. He is happy to leave anything wide of off stump and force the bowlers to bowl straight, allowing him to access the legside where he is so strong.
It can lead to long spells where seemingly nothing happens. The bowlers hang the ball outside off waiting for Sibley to flinch, Sibley lets it go waiting for bowlers to do likewise. Stalemate. It was a very familiar sight for much of his partnership with Stokes.
Over the past couple of years though - whether in county or international cricket - it is very rare that a bowler has outlasted Sibley in this game of patience. Eventually, they will bowl to him and he will clip them through the legside.
Of course, he is not flawless. His concentration did dip momentarily in the evening session at Emirates Old Trafford as he played at a full, wide-ish delivery from Shannon Gabriel and was fortunate to benefit from an equally rare drop from Jason Holder at slip.
For the most part though, Sibley knows his game, he has a plan and he sticks to it. Even if a bowler does eventually prise him out, those coming after him benefit from a bowler with more overs in their legs and an older ball that has long since lost its shine.
Ever since Chris Silverwood replaced Trevor Bayliss as head coach, England have talked about batting long, going back to basics somewhat with an emphasis on big runs rather than quick runs. Calls for Jason Roy to be given a chance in Test cricket were answered last summer, there have been very few demanding his recall since.
Sibley is symbolic of England's change of approach and they knew exactly what they were getting. His strike-rate was 43.78 when he was first selected for the tour of New Zealand, prior to this game it was 37.55 in Tests - significantly slower than Cook (46.95) but a tad quicker than Michael Atherton (37.49).
Crucially though, he scored more runs and faced more than 1,000 more deliveries than any other batsman in the County Championship last summer. After an uncertain in New Zealand, Sibley has shown signs he can replicate that on the international stage.
"We can't have it both ways," said Hussain.
"We can't complain for years about guys at the top of the order giving their wicket away, not seeing off the new ball, not playing for their off stump, and then when someone does that in conditions like this, say 'well, come on, let's play a few more shots!'"
It may leads to complaints about the run-rate and spells where England appear to be going nowhere but having seen the dramatic collapses - including numerous 10-wicket sessions - that the positive approach brought, as unfashionable as it is these days, it might be time for a bit of patience.
Watch day two of the second #raisethebat Test between England and the West Indies from 10.30am on Sky Sports Cricket.
