Former England Test opener Dom Sibley has opened up on the difficulties he experienced at the end of his Test career, saying he was "hoping for it to rain at points" when he was struggling for form against India.
Speaking on In The Bubble on the Wisden Cricket Patreon channel, Sibley detailed the problems he was having with his technique before he was dropped from England's Test side during their series against India in 2021. "The first year I had in Test cricket was quite positive and I felt like I belonged," said Sibley "Then it slowly deteriorated and by the end of that summer against India, I felt like I was going out to bat and I couldn't even score where I used to where my strengths are.
"I struggled on the leg side and I chipped a few to midwicket and I just felt like the writing was on the wall a little bit and my technique was letting me down, and mentally as well it was all coming to an end."
Sibley made his Test debut in 2019 against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. He scored a century in his fourth Test against South Africa, making an unbeaten 133 in England's second innings during a memorable Test in Cape Town. He made a second century later that year against West Indies in Manchester, scoring 120 and putting on a partnership of 260 with Ben Stokes. The pace of that innings brought Sibley under some scrutiny, it was England's slowest Test hundred in 20 years, and second slowest of all time at home.
Having scored a half-century in the following match, his Test runs then dried up against Sri Lanka the following winter. After making 87 in the first innings of England's 2021 away series against India, Sibley made a high score of 16 in his next seven innings which included six consecutive single-digit scores. He was dropped during the return series the following summer, his Test average having dropped below 30 and having passed 50 once in his previous 15 innings.
"At the end of my Test career, my technique was all over the shop," said Sibley. "I needed to go back and simplify things and make some of my movements more simple.
"You can't really be prepared for that level of scrutiny coming from the county game. At the back end [of his career], I was aware I was under pressure and, as a player, you know you're struggling and things aren't adding up, that was heightened with the amount of people talking about it.
"It does make things more difficult and after I was dropped for a period of time it was quite a nice relief to go back and play for Warwickshire and get out of that environment, especially with how I was feeling technically as well."
Since his last Test for England, Sibley moved back to his boyhood county Surrey, rejoining the club in 2023. Since moving back to The Oval, Sibley has scored over 2,000 runs for the three-time back-to-back County Championship winners. This season, he's so far the fifth highest run-scorer in the competition, having made two centuries in the same game at The Oval against Hampshire in Surrey's first home match of the competition.
"I'm trying to simplify it," said Sibley on his batting technique. "I played most of the T20s [for Surrey] last year, and trying to expand my game in that sense has been really fun and quite liberating. I'm trying to be a bit more expansive and get back to enjoy batting a bit more.
"As the time has gone on I try and look back at the more positive times [with England] pre-Covid – the trips to New Zealand and South Africa. But you do come away from it and feel like, that's something that you've worked your whole life for and you don't enjoy it. The last few Tests I played I was hoping for it to rain at points. Now that I'm a bit older and a bit more detached from it, I can look back on some good memories."
Listen to the full interview with Sibley on In The Bubble on the Wisden Cricket Patreon channel.
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