Dom Bess admitted his frustration with circumstances beyond his control leading to his summer fizzling out just weeks after he made a favourable impression with England.
An injury to fellow Somerset spinner Jack Leach meant a surprise call-up for the two-Test series against Pakistan for Bess, who made a near-instant impact on his international debut with a confident half-century at Lord’s.
Bess then showed his burgeoning promise while on England Lions duty by claiming the wickets of India internationals Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant, only to be omitted in favour of Leach on his return to Somerset.
A special moment for @DomBess99 to receive his first England cap from Vic Marks! 🏴🏏🧢#ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/j6Gc2NdEKE — England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 25, 2018
The 21-year-old spent much of the second half of the summer featuring for his club’s second XI and, as such, was not among the considered candidates for England’s tour to Sri Lanka.
He said: “My season at the back end was pretty non-existent, I didn’t really play that much. The start was good fun.
“It’s funny how quickly it goes, so three or four weeks went (as part of the England squad) and I was like ‘Christ, I’ve done it’. But then I felt like a lot of things were out of my control.
“When we played in the Lions game I thought I played pretty well and I thought I had a good chance but I think the big blow was not playing (for Somerset) against Worcester. They went with one spinner.
What a crazy 2/3 weeks it’s been, truly amazing to make my test debut for @englandcricket thank you for all the messages and support during this series! Special mention to the swede @CurranSM on making his debut! #685 pic.twitter.com/119ikgBMau — Dom Bess (@DomBess99) June 4, 2018
“I felt like I wasn’t going to get (an England) call or anything after that because I wasn’t playing for the first team. That was more out of my control so it was obviously a very frustrating second half of the season.”
As the junior of Somerset’s two frontline spinners, Bess accepts his opportunities may be limited if the choice is a straight shoot-out between himself and Leach.
The situation may resolve itself if slow left-armer Leach can establish himself with England but Bess is keeping his own options open.
Asked if he would consider a move away from Taunton, Bess said: “Potentially. That’s sport, isn’t it.
“Loan is potentially the first option because of contracts but I think then potentially – it’s obviously in the thoughts.
“I back my own ability and all I’ve got to do is get on that pitch.”
Bess, though, is not dwelling on his misfortune having been included in both the four-day and limited-overs squads for the Lions’ tour of the United Arab Emirates which gets under way later this month.
While Bess is once again proud to don the red badge of England’s second string, he is hoping to use the fixtures against Pakistan A to distinguish himself on pitches in Abu Dhabi that are usually conducive to spin.
He said: “It’s really focused me because come the back end of the season, I was sort of thinking ‘right, what have I got planned this winter’? I wanted to get away and prove myself, and this is a massive opportunity.
“It’s so competitive within this environment, it’s a team environment but this is why we get so much out of it because we’re so competitive together.
“You’ve got the red badge and helmet and you always want that white (England) badge. I don’t want to be sat with a red badge for a long time, I want to be up there, but if there is a place to perform it’s with the second team.
“That’s how you get into international cricket, I think, and I think you’ve got to grind away for a bit to then get that international recognition.”
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