Dom Sibley and Dan Lawrence are “out of their depth” in Test cricket according to former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Vaughan’s comments came after England collapsed from 138-3 to 183 all out on day one of the opening Test against India at Trent Bridge. Opening batsman Sibley departed for 18 off 70 balls, while Lawrence was dismissed for a duck.
Speaking to the BBC after the close of play Vaughan said: “Now and again you have to look at players and go, ‘are they good enough at this level?’ They’ve had so many chances, they’ve had so many opportunities and I think there are a couple in that top six that are out of their depth.
“I’m going Dom Sibley at the top of the order, I just think he doesn’t offer a great deal, he can’t give you that counter punch.
“And I look at Dan Lawrence, he’s young and he may come back, but whilst he’s got that technique – when he first goes out there you hide behind the curtains because you’re just not sure what he’s trying to achieve in those first 20 balls. The hardest 20 balls of your Test career are those 20 and he just doesn’t look like he’s got the technique to get over that.”
Lawrence impressed on debut against Sri Lanka in January, scoring 73 in his first innings in Test cricket. The 24-year-old’s following 13 innings have resulted in four ducks, though he did hit an unbeaten 81 against New Zealand in his last Test appearance before the India series.
While Sibley was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year this April after hitting a Test century against West Indies, the Warwickshire batsman endured a difficult winter and averages 21.13 with the bat for England this year.
