Bess relishing prospect of testing himself in spin- friendly conditions
England's Sri Lankan Test warm- ups started on a suspiciously green pitch yesterday, but Dom Bess is licking his lips at the prospect of a spinfriendly surface in Galle next week - and the chance to prod any "egos" in the home ranks.
After another round of Covid- 19 swabs came back clear - leaving the quarantined Moeen Ali as the only member of the touring party to test positive - England finally took to the pitch in Hambantota for a low- key workout between Team Root and Team Buttler.
Captain Joe Root fared best with the bat, helping himself to an unbeaten 74 as his side posted 184 for two in 50 overs on a track that was unusually grassy and highly unlikely to be replicated when the first Test gets under way at a ground notorious for its lavish turn.
In the reply James Anderson found himself on a hat- trick after successive dismissals of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler, the latter bowled by big movement off the seam, but a half- century from Ollie Pope - only present for rehabilitation reasons - turned a top- order collapse into a less grisly 120 for six.
Today any pretence of a competitive match will be abandoned, replaced by middle practice for the main batsmen and long workouts for the spinners in preparation for the start of the series on Thursday.
Bess has already bowled more than anyone else - wheeling through 16 overs for 59
runs and the early wicket of James Bracey hacking to midon - and is relying on more assistance when the competitive stuff gets under way.
"It had a bit of grass on it - I'd be very surprised if we got that sort of pitch again out here," he said of conditions at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium.
"It's quite clever from the Sri Lankans, whatever t hey're doing in terms of the pitch. But I know myself and, bowling on that, I won't be think
ing too much on the wicket. It was more about getting on grass again and competing against each other. That was the main objective: adapting to the pitch, the heat and the Kookaburra ball. It was a really good workout."
While England have three spinners in their squad and three more among their standby list, Bess can safely consider himself the man in possession as first- choice, having played all six of last sum
mer's Test matches. His was often a walk- on part given the prevalence of the pacemen but for the first time in his short career, the 23- year- old will find himself thrust into a leading role with an expectation to make things happen.
It will be his first experience of Asian conditions in the Test arena but the idea of attacking Sri Lanka's batsmen in their own backyard is one he welcomes.
"I can't wait, genuinely can't
wait," he said. "I personally haven't been on many spinning wickets, or wickets that have suited me, but now the eyes are going to be on the spinners. It's about having the nous with the fields and putting the Sri Lankans under pressure.
"These guys have grown up playing against spin and that's why I see it as a great challenge. There could be some egos floating around that I can hopefully get stuck into."