Bess aims to bounce back for England
DOM Bess has admitted he was caught off guard by his England dropping and found his spell on the sidelines a “tough pill to swallow”.
The off-spinner was a near certainty to return to the XI for today’s fourth and final Test against India in Ahmedabad, with the tourists already accepting they got things wrong by relying on seam in their two-day defeat on the same ground last week.
Bess claimed 17 wickets in his first three matches of the winter, two against Sri Lanka and the seriesopening victory in Chennai, but struggled for consistency at times and sent down a number of full tosses in an uncertain final spell.
He was initially replaced by Moeen Ali, but was overlooked once again as England made an ill-fated decision to gamble on pace for the day/night match.
Bess is known for his ebullient mindset and self-belief, qualities his team-mates will hope have not been damaged by events of the past fortnight as they look for a win that would square the series at 2-2.
“It was certainly a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t see it round the corner,” the 23-year-old said of his axing.
“Personally, I didn’t think I needed it but, as time went on, it was probably the best option. I do think a lot about the game. I’m always trying to get better, whether thinking about it or doing it physically.
“So the hardest part for me was getting away from it and I guess the management did it for me. It has freshened me up, I’ve thought about things and then had time to work on it.
“Hopefully I’ll look back over the period and think it’s actually been a real success heading into this last game. Now, for six or 12 months’ time... I was happy, probably, with that little break.”
England skipper Joe Root has urged his team to “be a bit braver” and free themselves from fear in the final Test.
Ever since his double century in the series opener paved the way for a score of 578 and a landmark win, England have been left dizzy by the twin spin of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.
Root wants his team to stop being paralysed by worry and try to land a few more blows of their own.
“We’ve got all the ingredients, all the pieces and all the skills to exploit and succeed in these conditions,” he said. “It is important we harness that, have it in the front of our mind and be
Hopefully I’ll look back over the period and think it’s actually been a real success heading into this last game.
Dom Bess
a bit braver actually; play with a little bit more freedom. “That doesn’t mean going out there and trying to slog it, or be ultraaggressive, we need to play our game a certain way but it is about not being scared of the conditions.
“It’s having that confidence to play the ball in front of you, not having the baggage from the previous delivery, not over-thinking the pitch, trying to see things for what they are.
“And if you get an opportunity to score, you absolutely have to commit to it. That kind of mentality and attitude is really important on surfaces that are extreme and are spinning quite heavily. You need to be able to put pressure back on the bowlers.”
Root admits the decision to invest heavily in seamers for the day/night Test was an error in judgement.
“You look at the side for the last match and we got that wrong, we read the pitch wrong in terms of the way we selected the team,’’ he said. “We didn’t envisage it would spin as much. If the pitch is anything like the last one Dom would be a fantastic option.”