I aim to bat for long periods, just like Cook
Ollie Westbury is a rarity. He prefers a well-judged leave to a towering six. For 465 minutes on his England U19 debut, West bury frustrated Sri Lanka, striking 16 fours on his way to a 380ball 196 before second Test scores of 45 and 41 helped him to win man of the series.
He considers himself of the Alastair Cook mould as opposed to Alex Hales, and as the England skipper has proved on so many occasions, the mental faculty to bat for long periods of time is as invaluable as it is rare.
“In terms of natural talent and ability, I wouldn’t be the most eye-catching or flamboyant player, but my strengths would be in my concentration and being able to bat for a very long time,” Westbury explained.
“If I want to score a hundred, I have to bat for a very long period. It’s very simple, just leaving and leaving, waiting for the bowler to come straight and then clipping it through the leg-side, waiting for them to bowl short and then pulling it.
“Leaving well, scoring ugly runs over a long period of time. They are my strengths, I am learning my game more and more and model myself on Alastair Cook. I just want to make it really hard for the opposition to get me out.
“When all the practice and all the work you do on all aspects of your game leading up to it all come together it gives you confidence to go out and make a score.”
Self-promotion is alien to Westbury, 19 – who grew up playing club cricket for Himley in Dudley and became the first Shrewsbury School batsman last year since James Taylor to score 1,000 runs. But after an unforgettable 2016, the clamour surrounding him is becoming deafening.
“I am feeling very confident, which is a good thing and really enjoying it at the moment,” he admitted.
“Performing at this level and on this stage gives you the confidence to go on and back yourself and do it in other arenas, first-class and maybe onto a higher level.
“It is about breaking that barrier in your head and being able to know you can go out and do it, then doing it consistently.”
Unsurprisingly Westbury’s mammoth knock against the Sri Lankans has left him high on confidence – not to mention 137 in a 2nd XI game against Northamptonshire – but there is almost no chance that will lead to complacency.
His intransigence at the crease goes hand in hand with a remorseless work ethic that manifests itself in hours at the nets.
He said: “I have to work harder than most, but I make sure that my basics are as good as they can be. I am trying to keep my game as simple as it can be so that I don’t overcomplicate it.
“I want to give myself the best chance I can to score runs. If that means I have to spend ages in the nets working on different things, then that is just what I have to do.”