Plan to ‘nurture’ rested Bess

ENgLaND plan to ‘nurture’ Dom Bess in an attempt to help him come back stronger after they left him out of today’s second Test. Bess has enjoyed success this winter against sri Lanka and in the first innings of the first Test against India but has also been inconsistent and ended England’s epic win by bowling a worrying number of full tosses on the final day.

Now they have taken him out of the firing line and replaced him with Moeen ali in one of four changes to that winning side for today’s pivotal second of four Tests.

‘It was a tough decision but Dom needs a rest,’ said England spin coach Jeetan Patel. ‘He was starting to get a bit tired in the first Test and it was taking a toll on him. ‘This gives him time to get back to where he was before the next Test. ‘Consistency is something you learn and it’s no shock that spinners take a long time to mature and get to where they need to be,’ added former New Zealand and warwickshire off-spinner Patel. ‘Dom is 23 and we forget that because of what he’s done. ‘He’s still learning his trade. we’re going to make sure we nurture him because we want him to get better and hold that position for a long time along with Jack Leach.’ Joe Root insists he still wants to play Twenty20 cricket despite again being left out of England’s short-form squad for five matches against India next month.

The England Test captain does not want to give up hopes of playing in October’s Twenty20 world Cup and said: ‘My T20 ambitions are still there. I might have to take a different path to the rest of the guys but I really want to be involved in that team.’