THE FORGOTTEN SPINNER
Bess was England No 1 six months ago, now he’s fighting for his future
LIFE has changed drastically for offspinner Dom Bess in the six months since he made a Test debut 50 against Pakistan at Lord’s, and followed up with nightwatchman runs, a spectacular catch and three wickets in victory in Leeds.
The Somerset bowler was a pioneer England pick in Ed Smith’s brave new selections earlier this year due to injury to close friend and county teammate Jack Leach. But he arrived in the United Arab Emirates this weekend on an England Lions tour, as Joe Root’s men cele- brated Test victory over Sri Lanka, having slipped down the pecking order. Almost overnight, with slow left-armer Leach back from a broken thumb, Bess was no longer assured of his Somerset place and only featured in half the 14 County Championship fixtures.
‘My season had the heights of Everest and a massive descent,’ Bess said, before multi-format matches against Pakistan A.
‘I went through a period when it was tough. I went from playing my second Test at Headingley to being in the Somerset second XI in about four weeks. I thought I did all right and could have kept that shirt but things were out of my control.’
Bess has no intention of wallowing in self-pity, even if he concedes he might have to leave Taunton to fulfil his career ambitions. He has talked through his dramatic change of fortunes with psychologists as well as old school mate Jack Maunder, the rugby union scrum-half who also made his England debut at 20.
It was a rousing discussion at Loughborough led by Jonathan Trott just a few days ago — on what the England badge means to players — that has provided a stirring motivational image.
‘A couple of boys came up with a great scenario: when you finish your career you have all your caps lined up, from Under 10s and club cricket all the way through, and the last one you have is your England Test cap, which for me is the pinnacle of the sport,’ he said.
‘That’s the thing that really got me. I want to make sure that England cap has seen a lot of sweat, a lot of champagne hopefully, so it’s just like the others.’
With two years on his contract, Bess is happy to fight for his place at the start of 2019 but already has designs on a white-ball loan move (having played more 50-over matches for England’s second string than Somerset). His position could be a reprise of the wicketkeeping conundrum that saw Jos Buttler flit to Lancashire five years ago due to the presence of his international rival Craig Kieswetter. Bess says he may have to make a similar call if he is to put the desired amount of ‘sweat and champagne’ into his England cap.
He added: ‘I love Somerset. They have always given me the opportunity but if I am not progressing to where I want to be. When I look back on my career, do I want to be a good county cricketer or do I want to have seven, eight, 10 years playing for England? Or at least give myself that opportunity? If there was ever a decision like that, I wouldn’t be afraid.’
And Bess certainly cannot be accused of sitting on his hands when it comes to progressing his career.
Some of the effervescence of personality revealed in an England shirt last summer reemerged when, after being informed of being dropped, he made a pitch to head coach Jason Kerr to be considered as an opening batsman.
‘My goal at the moment is to knock Leachy off the No 1 spot. Because we are good mates, we are very competitive against each other — it’s a fascinating relationship,’ he continued. ‘When Leachy was struggling with injuries and I had bowled well in the Lions series, I thought I was going to play at Worcester but they picked him. He bowled beautifully and took wickets and now he deserves to be in Sri Lanka.
‘And I’m buzzing for him. I thought I was potentially the option, but there is no point sobbing about it.
‘When I had to play in the seconds, I tried to prove a point and I got 185. I got runs in the Test match and even before that I got 92 against Hampshire.
‘It was like “this is how desperate I am to play for Somerset, how desperate I am to get in the side”. It is not being arrogant. I have to ask those questions and put it in their heads. If I can do that and get runs it changes the whole structure of the side.’