Big year beckons for Yorkshire CCC trio with England – Chris Waters

And it is a big year for the three Yorkshire players in their squad on the sub-continent – captain Joe Root, batsman/wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, and off-spinner Dom Bess.

In many ways, it could be a defining year for all three – although Bess, at 23, clearly has a long way to go.

The vastly experienced Root and Bairstow, on the other hand, have been there and done it. They have played 167 Tests between them (Root 97, Bairstow 70).

Having just turned 30, and by his own admission not played as well as he would have wished in Test cricket in recent times, it is a big year for Root as both captain and batsman.

As captain, there are few, if any, challenges tougher than away series in India and Australia, while India also visit England next summer, along with New Zealand, the world’s No 1, subject to confirmation.

As the team’s premier batsman (7,823 runs, average 47.99), much will depend on Root if England are to enjoy a triumphant 12 months.

Improving a conversion rate of 17 hundreds compared to 49 half-centuries is, as ever, his most pressing task.

Bairstow, 31, is not quite drinking in the last chance saloon but he must feel as if he is, given the way his Test career has faded due, in particular, to some questionable treatment by the selectors.

Handed a welcome chance to reclaim his place owing to the absence of such as Rory Burns, Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope in Sri Lanka, he will hardly need telling that he needs to take it, particularly with Jos Buttler – who has contrastingly had more chances than Bairstow has had hot meals – now in possession of the wicketkeeping gloves.

Bairstow believes that he is playing as well as ever, and if he can back that up with runs to prove it, then he could yet follow Root to the magic milestone of 100 Test appearances – and what an achievement that would be for the two Yorkshire stars.

For all the progress of such as Burns, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, along with the emergence of Pope and now Dan Lawrence, many struggle to see how an England side is not improved by the presence of Bairstow, who certainly emphasises its strength in depth.

As a batsman in county cricket, Bairstow has dominated attacks in a way perhaps not seen since Kevin Pietersen – more convincingly, even, than Root has done.

Of course, there is a world of difference between county and Test cricket, but if anyone can make runs under the pressure of having to bat in different positions with his place under threat, it is Bairstow.

Bess, for his part, is a splendid prospect – if not yet the finished article in the mould of a Graeme Swann.

It would be unrealistic to expect him to have developed to that extent just yet, but in helpful conditions on the sub-continent, he has an excellent opportunity to take a major step forward.

One of the great advantages to Bess’s game – and one of the reasons why Yorkshire signed him – is that he is also a more-than-useful batsman; he balances the county side in the No 8 position.

He has a Yorkshireman’s pluck if not quite his birthright; Bess was born in Exeter and joined Yorkshire from Somerset.

There is something about Bess that suggests that he could develop into an exceedingly valuable cricketer for England, both as an attacking and containing spinner, who also has the ability to graft useful runs and to excel in the field.

A bit like Sam Curran, you always feel that a team is made stronger, more competitive, by a cricketer such as Bess, and with his old Somerset colleague Jack Leach on hand to assist his development in Sri Lanka and to provide internal competition, the current tour is an important one for him.

Ultimately, though, the pressure and scrutiny this year will fall most notably on Root, whose captaincy could well be defined by the happenings of 2021/early 2022.

Few England captains survive two series defeats in Australia, and Root will be especially keen to join the ranks of England captains who have won a Test series Down Under.

Can he do it?

There is no reason why not, although his chief value to the team will always be as a batsman.

If Root scores heavily, then England should win consistently.

Three successive series wins already reflect well on the Yorkshire axis of Root and coach Chris Silverwood.

So, a big year ahead for Root, Bairstow and Bess – and also a big chance.

The best players invariably produce their best in circumstances that demand nothing less, and the Yorkshire trio have all the necessary attributes to do so.

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