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Dom Sibley: Five things you should know about England's newest Test centurion

The Warwickshire batsman made an unbeaten 133 in the second Test in South Africa.

Dom Sibley hit his maiden Test hundred on Monday to put England in command against South Africa.

The 24-year-old hit an unbeaten 133 in the tourists' second innings in the second Test at Newlands.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some facts you may not know about the promising batsman.

From Surrey to Warwickshire

Sibley hails from Epsom, Surrey, and represented his home county until 2017 when a lack of opportunities inspired a loan move to Warwickshire.

That move was made permanent in 2018 and has paid off since Sibley sought the advice of freelance batting coach Gary Palmer, who encouraged him to alter his stance and play straighter down the ground.

Record breaker

Sibley was just 18 years and 21 days and still a schoolboy when he became the youngest double centurion in the history of theĀ County Championship.

His 242 against Yorkshire, achieved when he was still a pupil atĀ Whitgift School, also made him theĀ second-youngest Englishman to score a first-class double hundred and the thirteenth youngest double-centurion from any country.

His knock lasted a minute shy to 10 hours, took 536 balls and included 24 fours and two sixes.

International breakthrough

Dom Sibley celebrates his century at Newlands
Dom Sibley celebrates his century at Newlands (Halden Krog/AP).

The 24-year-old made his England Test debut in November 2019 after being included inĀ Chris Silverwood's squad for the tour of New Zealand.

The call-up came after a summer that saw him become theĀ leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship, scoring five centuries in the process.

He made an inauspicious start in his first Test in Mount Maunganui, scoring 22 and 12 as New Zealand won by an innings and 65 runs.

Scores of four, four and 29 followed before his superb knock at Newlands.

Calm under fire

Dom Sibley's mental toughness has been praised
Dom Sibley's mental toughness has been praised (Nick Potts/PA).

Sibley's strike-rate of 41.6 is considered slightly slow in first-class cricket, but the opener has been praised for his mental resilience.

Jim Troughton, Sibley's coach at Warwickshire, has described his capacity to retain focus under pressure as "monumental".

It's in the blood

Dom Sibley's father previously worked at the ECB
Dom Sibley's father previously worked at the ECB (Mike Egerton/PA).

Sibley's father, Mark, has also made a career out of the game.

Briefly acting asĀ commercial director to theĀ England & WalesĀ CricketĀ Board, Mark Sibley then moved on to media roles that involve selling the broadcast rights to the sport while he also works as a coach.

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