Opening the batting together for just the third time in Test cricket, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley provided England with an impressive start to their first innings on day one of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
The pair batted for the entirety of the opening session, with their partnership not ending till the final ball of the fourth over after the lunch break. Sibley was the man to depart, finding Dean Elgar at backward square leg of the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, to end the partnership on 70.
The ball before Sibley’s dismissal, the opener’s Test average had reached 45.66, slightly above Cook’s career mark of 45.35. Crawley was eventually dismissed for 44. Having made 25, 4, and 1 in his previous three Test innings, it meant he has improved his Test best score every time he has batted for England.
