Offspinner has made steady progress this summer but is a long-term investment
George Dobell at the Ageas Bowl24-Aug-2020In another era, an era before white-ball cricket dominated the middle of England’s domestic season, Dom Bess would probably be playing for his county now.He might even be playing for his county’s second XI. Either way, he would be learning his trade away from the unrelenting scrutiny that goes with the territory of playing international cricket and away from the expectation that comes with being his country’s first-choice spinner.But the world has changed. The production line that once saw a decent pair of spinners required by every county has all but ground to a halt. Young spinners emerging now usually have to learn to contribute in white-ball cricket if they are to entertain realistic hopes of sustaining a career. With first-class games squeezed into spring and autumn, they win few opportunities to learn their red-ball craft. Several talented hopefuls have drifted away from the professional game.So Bess, the talented young man that he is, has been asked to learn on the job. Instead of using all his skills and experience to ensnare batsmen, he’s at the stage of his career – aged 23 and with fewer than 50 first-class appearances – where he is still searching for a reliable stock ball and experimenting with his variations. He is, in short, a promising young cricketer who has been given accelerated promotion to fill the void left by England’s flawed domestic scheduling. It’s exactly the situation Moeen Ali found himself in at the start of the 2014 summer.Bess has bowled perfectly respectably here. On a painfully slow wicket that would have thwarted plenty of more experienced spinners and against admirably determined batsmen who would have done the same, he demanded respect and conceded fewer than two runs per over. Later in the day, when he settled on a line outside off stump, he even troubled the batsmen a few times. He did, by any realistic expectations, just fine.The problem is that at this stage it’s not obvious what Bess’ weapons are. He doesn’t gain the drift of Moeen, or the dip of Graeme Swann. He doesn’t have the pace of Monty Panesar, or the consistency of Jack Leach. As he showed in South Africa, he can provide control and prove dangerous given some assistance, but it is asking a huge amount – an unreasonable amount, really – to expect him to lead his country’s spin attack at this stage of his career.ALSO READ: Spinners thriving in Bob Willis TrophySo, why did England take a punt on Bess? There are two or three young, England-qualified spinners doing nicely in the Bob Willis Trophy this season, after all. But neither Amar Virdi nor Mason Crane has many pretensions with the bat and Matt Critchley goes for more than four an over across his first-class career. That would make it tough for him to play the holding role England are sometimes sure to require.Right now, Leach might well be a better bowler than Bess. He certainly warrants selection for Somerset ahead of him. So if England go to Sri Lanka and India this winter, Leach should play a significant role. On pitches offering assistance to spin, he has the tools to trouble batsmen. He was, you may remember, the equal top wicket-taker (with Moeen) when England won in Sri Lanka in 2018.There is, incidentally, a lesson here. It is clear that both Bess and Leach have – just as Swann and Panesar did at Northants in the early 2000s – enjoyed an accelerated development thanks to the spin-friendly pitches prepared for them at Taunton in recent years. If England are serious about developing more spin bowlers, they have to allow conditions – and a schedule – which encourage them.Either way, England prefer Bess as a long-term investment for a couple of reasons. For a start, he can bat. And brave though Leach was in his memorable one not out at Leeds and incredible though he was in his unlikely 92 against Ireland at Lord’s, those innings are considered somewhat aberrational. A bottom four of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Leach would leave England with a dangerously long tail.Equally, England feel that on pitches offering little, Bess may find a way to contribute a bit more – if not with the ball, then with the bat or in the field. And in Australia, where the batsmen are certain to come after him and Leach, they feel he may have more tools to cope.Dom Bess is currently England’s first-choice spinner•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesNot least among these tools is his positive attitude. Bess’ enthusiasm, his willingness to learn on the job, his apparent resilience in the face of adversity, are seen to render him suitable for the challenges ahead. There will, no doubt, be some long and tough days in India and Australia. England want a man in the side who can shrug those days off, come back for more and keep improving.It is a shame that there is currently no specialist coach with the squad to work with him. England had planned for Jeetan Patel, the former New Zealand offspinner, to join them in the bio-secure bubble, but visa regulations prevent him working as a coach. As a consequence, Bess is, for now, having to find his own way through the challenges ahead of him.You might also wonder how Moeen might have fared had he benefited from the same patience extended to the likes of Jos Buttler or Joe Denly. Moeen was, you may recall, the highest wicket-taker in the world in Test cricket over the previous 12 months at the time he was dropped.And while that decision was perfectly reasonable – it looked as if Moeen needed some time out of the firing line to decompress – the subsequent to decision not to offer him a red-ball central contract seemed to push him away from the squad just when he needed to feel embraced and valued. Again, the thought occurs that England may have coaxed more out of Moeen with better treatment. His best ball is still probably better than the best ball of any other red-ball spinner in England. And he has made five Test centuries.But you can see why England like Bess. And, by most reasonable judgements, he’s progressing nicely. We just have to be realistic in what we expect from him.
