Nasser Hussain, writing in his column for the Daily Mail, has explained what he thinks Dom Sibley can learn from Ollie Pope‘s approach against the spinners.
Pope is currently nine short of his first Test century at home, going into the second day of the third Test against West Indies, and it was his performance against the spinners which most impressed Hussain.
The former England captain pointed out how the 22-year-old’s conviction with his strokeplay while taking on Rakheem Cornwall and Roston Chase, and either went fully forward or moved right back, which forced them to change their lengths.
Ollie Pope: 9⃣1⃣*
Jos Buttler: 5⃣6⃣*The unbeaten Pope-Buttler stand takes England to 258-4 at the close of play having been inserted in to bat by West Indies.#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/jVDnqlWmoT
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 24, 2020
Hussain said it was something Sibley, dismissed for a duck on Friday, can employ in his game. “I really enjoyed the way he [Pope] played the two off-spinners, Rakheem Cornwall and Roston Chase,” Hussain wrote. “The key to playing spin is not to get trapped in that in-between position where you’re neither forward nor back. And Pope provided a masterclass, either getting fully forward or moving right back.
“There was a lesson there for Dom Sibley, who doesn’t get out much to spin but doesn’t score very quickly against it either, because he works everything to leg. Pope messed with the bowlers’ lengths, which opened up both sides of the wicket.
“He was also excellent between the wickets, dropping the ball into the off side and pinching singles. And by rotating the strike so often, he made sure the bowlers couldn’t get into a rhythm against one batsman. That’s a fielding captain’s nightmare.
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“Above all, he changed the complexion of the day without ever being reckless. Yes, he did get away with one or two miscues, but when you’re that busy as a batsman it’s a risk you have to accept.
“Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay him is that he looks an absolute natural at the crease, and plays with an almost innate hand-eye coordination. No disrespect to the likes of Sibley and Rory Burns, but in comparison they appear a little manufactured, as if they’ve had to hone their games on the bowling machine. Not Pope. He looks a serious prospect.”
