The Nickname
Fondly called as “The Fridge”, Dominic Sibley is a cricketer who currently represents England.
One might wonder why he was named so. Throughout his first-class career, Sibley was taunted to be unfit for the game.
Experts mentioned how his bulking shape would affect his game.
These remarks continued even after he made his test debut for England.
The Change
During the canceled Sri-Lankan tour Sibley realized that he had to change.
He said, “In the heat I saw a few of the lads running after a big session and that was an eye-opener for me.
It was just seeing how fit some of the senior guys are”.
“I remember sitting on the plane thinking I need to do something, especially during lockdown when we couldn’t improve anything cricket-related.”
Dominic Sibley had only played 6 tests before this.
He was selected in the 13-man squad that was going to play the West-Indies.
The series was scheduled to start on 8th July 2020 amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
As promised, he had made good use of the time of cricket. Sibley lost a whopping 12kgs in the lockdown.
Career so far
Sibley is a traditional right-hand opening batsman. He was born in Surrey, England and is 6ft tall.
DOM made his debut for Surrey in 2013.
He scored a double century in his third first-class game against Yorkshire.
Sibley is the second-youngest Englishman to do so. He joined Warwickshire in 2017 and was named the vice-captain soon after.
In the 2018/19 county season, Sibley showed his true masterclass.
He scored 1324 runs in 13 matches at an average of 69.68.
This feat was special as it had come in a season that belonged to the bowlers.
A technically pure batsman, Sibley had made his impact loud and clear.
Such batting prowess led to Sibley getting a call up to the national side.
In September 2019, he was named in England’s Test squad against New Zealand.
On 6 January 2020, Sibley scored his first century in Test cricket, in the second match against South Africa.
It is still early days in his career but he looks promising.
The Grandfather story
Kenneth MacKenzie was Dom Sibley’s grandfather. He passed away in 2011.
However, he had noticed Sibley’s skills at an early age. He saw his grandson hone his skills.
Therefore, just 4 months before passing away he had placed two bets that his grandson would play for England.
The bets had amounted to a whopping £21,600 and there were two slips of the same.
It is really beautiful to see how young Sibley had impressed his grand-dad.
Conclusion
From the very beginning, Sibley has shown great potential. He has shown that he is a dedicated cricketer.
He went out of this comfort zone and improved his game.
For a long time, England cricket has been looking for someone to fill the shoes of Sir Alastair Cook.
With a phenomenal technique, Sibley can be the one. Only time will tell.
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