England cricketer Dom Sibley has said the curtailed Sri Lanka tour was a ”wake up call” and it motivated him to lose around 12kg during the coronavirus induced lockdown in order to be more agile in the cricket field. In March, England had postponed the Test series against Sri Lanka after discussions with the Sri Lanka Cricket board due to the coronavirus pandemic worsening globally.

The English team was scheduled to play the two-match of the World Test Championship (WTC) against Sri Lanka, commencing from March 19.

Sibley, the England opening batsman said that looking at his experienced teammates like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler during the training made him ”self conscious” about his weight.

“In Sri Lanka, for the first time in my career, I felt a little bit self-conscious about my physique and my weight. I remember being in Sri Lanka, especially with that heat, and seeing a few of the lads running after a big session and that was an eye opener for me. Ben Stokes is a bit of a freak when it comes to his training,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Sibley as saying.

“Actually it was seeing him, Root and Buttler running after a session in Colombo. I remember being absolutely spent so that was a real eye opener. I think it was overdue having that wake-up call and a good lesson for me, regardless of whether it leads to runs,” he added.

England and West Indies will take on each other in a three-match Test series starting from July 8.

First Test: July 8-12 at Ageas Bowl

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Second Test: July 16-20 at Emirates Old Trafford

Third Test: July 24-28 at Emirates Old Trafford