"I genuinely can't wait" – Dom Bess looking forward to chance on helpful Sri Lankan pitches

To date, Bess' 10 Tests have been played in London, Leeds, Manchester, Southampton, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth – hardly the spitting bunsens that a youngster making his way might have wished for

There was more than a hint of irony about the surface prepared for England’s intra-squad warmup match at Hambantota, with a sprinkling of grass providing rare encouragement for visiting seamers in Sri Lanka.

James Anderson and Ollie Robinson provided a menacing challenge when a team captained by Jos Buttler had its chance to bat on the tour’s first day of semi-competitive action. Dom Sibley, Jonny Bairstow, Buttler himself and Sam Curran all fell cheaply to the pair on a pitch that came as some surprise to Dom Bess, England’s off-spinner.

Bess, more than most, could be forgiven for looking forward to dry, dusty conditions conducive to spin when England eventually arrive at Galle, where both Tests in a two-match series will take place.

To date, his 10 Tests have been played in London, Leeds, Manchester, Southampton, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth – hardly the spitting bunsens that a youngster making his way might have wished for.

A return in that time of 19 wickets at 40.57 apiece, therefore, only tells a portion of the story, though his efforts have been admirable in oft-unfavourable circumstances. England will know more about Bess – and, likewise, Bess will know more about Test cricket – come the end of this winter, with a four-Test trip to India following this rearranged tour of Sri Lanka.

Having now put in plenty of work as a holding option, this is his chance to stamp a more assertive authority on the Test arena. Of the 56 wickets taken by England bowlers on their last visit in 2018, when Joe Root’s side emerged with a first overseas whitewash victory for 55 years, only seven were taken by seamers.

There is a pressure attached to that privilege. Speaking on Sky Sports’ Hussain and Key Cricket Show on Thursday, James Anderson explained how, in effect, spinners and seamers trade traditional English roles in Sri Lanka: the spinners becoming the match-winners, with the seamers instead taking on a more defensive role.

“I genuinely can’t wait,” Bess said, talking at the end of a day on which he bowled 16 overs for Buttler’s side – twice as many as anyone else on either side. “It’s a great opportunity. In Sri Lanka, [spin] obviously plays more of a role.”

^{If selected, Bess will be playing his first Test in Asia}

In addition, in all likelihood, Bess will play his first Test alongside a spin partner. Until now, he has been both learning on the job as a relative rookie, while also having to perform as the solitary specialist spinner, often with just Joe Root for company as a part-time alternative.

On this occasion, though, he is one of six: Jack Leach and Moeen Ali were both named in the main 16-man squad, although Moeen is currently isolating after being struck down with Covid-19. In a reserve group, Matt Parkinson, Mason Crane and Amar Virdi are also present. Root and Dan Lawrence will be on hand to send down overs where needed.

“As a spin group, it’s a really exciting prospect,” Bess continued. “You can have these pressures on you, but I just see it as a great opportunity. It’s going to be a great challenge for the spin group. I can’t wait for it really.

“As a collective, it’s all about taking 20 wickets. You talk about pressure: you’re playing international cricket, there’s going to be pressure. But I think you’ve got to flip it. It’s the opportunity you can take. The eyes are going to be on the spinners and I can’t wait.”

Bess and Leach are yet to play a Test together, but the pair’s history goes well beyond England squads. The off-spinner recalled sharing a room with the left-arm spinner during their days in Somerset’s second team, dreaming of walking out together for their country. “To get back on the park with him hopefully and bowl with him at either end, I’m going to certainly cherish it because it will be our first time for England,” he added.

Even Bess’ international debut was interwoven with Leach, albeit through misfortune: Leach broke his thumb shortly before England were due to face Pakistan in 2018. And Bess also emerged as Leach’s replacement in South Africa a year ago after his then-county teammate was ruled out through illness. Bess has since moved on to Yorkshire, but he is hoping to channel some of the duo’s success at Taunton, where they formed a formidable partnership.

“You go back to Taunton and myself and Leachy, the great thing about it was that one would take [the wickets] and the other guy wouldn’t be going for many runs and would hold up the other end,” he explained. “There was no give-off and eventually batters had to go at it. It’s getting into that mindset, I honestly can’t wait.”

^{Bess and Jack Leach formed a fine partnership together for Somerset}

Spending time in the winter of 2019 with Sri Lankan great Rangana Herath has helped in that regard. “We spoke a lot about bowling in subcontinent conditions,” Bess recalled. “Funnily enough, I’ve actually still got the voice notes on my phone. I read through my notes the other day about it, and there were a lot of things that came back up.

“Obviously, he was a genius, but it was how simple he kept it. That was something that keeps getting reinforced. With Herath, it was actually how consistent you can be in an area. It always comes back to that – bowling your best ball. Once you’ve got the confidence actually, slightly changing it subtly and also playing with your fields.

“The Sri Lankans are going to back themselves against our spinners, and that’s going to play into our hands. Hopefully, there will be a couple of egos floating around, I hope, because you can get stuck into that, which I quite enjoy as well.”