Dominic Sibley still struggling to find right balance as England’s openers face difficult first day

It was the sort of morning during which the top-order batsmen have to earn their money the hard way. The toss had been won and the entirely correct decision to bat taken, but, as it so often does, it came with a proviso that a difficult first hour would need to be negotiated. Such pronouncements are usually made by a captain lurking down the order and are often greeted by knowing glances from the openers, but such is their calling. Theirs is not a job for grumblers.

Early casualties are common, nay almost inevitable, in such circumstances and so Rory Burns will probably not be too despondent about his dismissal in the first over, especially as it came from a quite brilliant piece of bowling