Dom Bess feeling ‘truly dangerous’ and eager to spin series England’s way


He may have gone wicketless all over the fourth innings as England fell to a bruising defeat in the first Test, but Dom Bess is not any such cricketer whose confidence is easily dented. England’s offspinner, still only five matches into his Test career, has declared that he’s feeling “truly dangerous” and said he was once eager to receive back into the thick of it when the teams renew their behind-closed-doors contest at Emirates Old Trafford this week.

Bess is used to playing with a burden of expectation of his shoulders, having developed at Somerset where the Taunton surfaces are incessantly tailor-made to suit himself and Jack Leach, the other spinner in England’s 21-man party. Ben Stokes, standing in as captain all over the first Test, had partly based his decision at the toss on the theory the Ageas Bowl pitch would take spin in the fourth innings, but while Bess was once unable to make a decisive contribution he seems in no way cowed by the experience.

In truth, had a tight review for lbw against Roston Chase gone his way – it came back as umpire’s call despite Peddle-Eye suggesting the ball would have hit the top of middle stump – West Indies would have been 31 for 4 and the eventual outcome of the game might polite have been different.

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“Personally I used to be truly happy with how it came out, it’s just the opportunities that went lacking in that final innings,” Bess said via video convention from Manchester. “It would have been nice to have that lbw shout, it could have potentially got us on a roll to have them four down. It’s coming out truly nicely and whether I am getting picked, confidently we will get a big score and I will spin a couple out.

“I realize I went wicketless [in the second innings], but like I said it could have turned… And in fact, the object I’m focused on is how polite it’s coming out at the present time, I do feel truly dangerous and that’s the reason a great spot to be. I think as a spinner, some will go your way some days, some would possibly not. That’s cricket. I don’t look too much into that. I wish to contribute with bat, ball and in the field, and when opportunities come I just wish to make certain I take them.”

Old Trafford has traditionally been viewed as a ground on which spinners can thrive, in large part because of the additional bounce. Recently that virtue has been less pronounced, with spin in first-class games averaging 37.95 over the past five years – higher than at all of England’s Test grounds bar Cardiff and The Oval – which might propose Bess, who has never in the past played in Manchester, will asked to fulfil more of a holding role.

Even so, he may not be fazed whether asked to take a look at and win the game in the fourth innings again (a cause that would be helped by England’s batsmen putting up a couple of more runs), comparing the scenario to that of quick bowlers being presented with seaming conditions.

“I’m used to bowling on spinning wickets,” he said. “People talk approximately this pressure of it being on me, the final day… I’ve spoken a lot with Leachy approximately it, this pressure that people put on us. I in fact flip it around, it is a great possibility – it’s like saying to a seamer, it is a green one today, are you worried approximately getting them out? Class lesson you’re not, you’re excited because it’s probably in your favour a little bit more. And that’s the reason how I look at it, certainly the final couple of days and confidently when it spins, it’s my time to shine and rise up.”

As for his own form, the encouraging signs are simple: bounce and spin. “I feel like I am attacking both edges of the bat. My consistency and accuracy inside where I am touchdown it is dangerous. That comes through training, getting that feel, that rhythm. I’m very big on my rhythm, getting into it. It’s just a feeling, I guess and that’s the reason certainly what I think I have got at the present time.”

The Southampton Test was once Bess’s first at home since his debut in 2018, having come back from a period in the wilderness to dislodge Leach, his county team-mate, as No. 1 spinner. Bess, who is out of contract with Somerset at the end of the summer, may have to move to be able to protected more steady cricket but suggested that so far as he was once concerned there was once no rivalry with England.

“I am playing at the present time but I’m really not taking it with no consideration. I realize Leachy is backside me and I know the way much he’s working. I’ve had to fight for my spot for a very long time I guess, all the time being backside. Potentially it is a little bit different at the present time, the feeling. But it’s approximately making certain that I focus on what I will keep watch over. I realize it’s a big cliché but it is so simple as that. I’ve got to ensure I am doing what I will do, day in and day out. There is not any rivalry with it. We are helping each and every other to be as best we will be able to for the England side. That’s a great spot to be.”

Bess’s other noteworthy role in Southampton was once to contribute to the ball-shining process. “Being a very sweaty man out on the field, I took a little bit of responsibility,” he said. Sky’s cameras even picked him up collecting sweat from his back – England might need one of these combination of inspiration and perspiration whether they’re to level the series this week.


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