Key man Dom Bess in good place as Yorkshire CCC continues Cup bid

Then, with Sussex proceeding sweetly on 118-2 in the 23rd over in pursuit of 262, Bess took two wickets in successive overs, having wicketkeeper Charlie Tear caught on the sweep in the deep by James Wharton, tempted by a well-flighted ball outside the off stump, and then captain Tom Clark held in the short cover area by Will Luxton.

It ended a threatening partnership of 95 between Clark and Tear, and on a day when Ben Coad and Dan Moriarty also took two wickets, Yorkshire closed out the game after Bess’s double strike, winning by 49 runs to achieve their second triumph in three in the 50-over One-Day Cup.

Bess’s performance at York’s Clifton Park, to where Yorkshire return on Friday to face Gloucestershire in a game that completes the first half of the group stage, served as a metaphor for his season.

It has been one of consistently solid, at times under-the-radar contributions as opposed to what might be termed headline-grabbing interventions with bat and ball.

There have been no five-wicket hauls or half-centuries thus far (although he did take 6-53 against Lancashire and 5-136 against Somerset for the seconds when Moriarty was preferred at the start of the season).

But Bess did bag 4-25 in the first of his two County Championship appearances this year, against Glamorgan at Headingley in May, chipped in with 3-26 at Notts last Sunday in the One-Day Cup, and he formed, with Moriarty and Jafer Chohan, an effective spin bowling trio in the T20 Blast, often bowling the hard overs in and around the powerplay yet still returning the best economy rate of Yorkshire’s regular frontline bowlers in that competition of 7.65.

“I feel like I’ve been a pretty consistent performer,” said Bess, who also captured a wicket - the key one of Ben Foakes - in his solitary over against Surrey when Yorkshire began their 50-over campaign with victory at The Oval.

“I might not have had five-fers, or whatever, but certainly in T20 I thought myself and Moz (Moriarty) as a partnership, and Jafer too, was really strong and we helped each other.

“I’ve started nicely (in the One-Day Cup), but I think the main thing for me was contributing with the bat (against Sussex).

"I know it wasn’t a huge amount of runs, but it was more the importance of them and that’s what I was most happy about.”

Having just turned 27, and established himself at Yorkshire following the move a few years back from his old club Somerset, Bess is moving towards what should be the peak of his career.

A lot came early to the affable West Countryman, who made his Test debut aged 20 and the last of his 14 Test appearances against India at Ahmedabad three years ago.

Naturally, he feels that he is a more rounded cricketer than he was when he first arrived on the international scene, having played only 16 first-class matches at the time. That number has now risen to 96 for a return of 262 wickets and 3,152 runs, his batting having come on during a spell with Southern Rocks in Zimbabwe last winter - which brought six scores of 40-plus in 11 innings – and his bowling and fielding as reliable and competitive as ever.

“I look back now and think, at 20, I probably didn’t really know my own game,” he reflected.

“I’m still trying to improve that element but my bowling at the minute is in a really strong place.

“I think the past two games, against Notts and Sussex, have showed probably my control - certainly in the one-day game, where you have to have another fielder up.

"I feel like I’m getting real clarity with my batting as well, so I’m very happy with where things are.”

An exciting finish to the season beckons - both for Bess personally and the team in general.

“It’s always about building blocks to the end,” he added.

“There’s a reason why it’s called the county grind, because it is – it’s a real grind up until September.

“It’s only really late August/September when you start winning things and walking home with trophies.

"Hopefully, that’s where we’re getting to.

"There’s still a lot of games to go, but we’ve put ourselves in a nice position in the one-day comp, and I think the next two games in the Championship, against Sussex and Middlesex, will be really important and determine who then goes up.

"It’s an exciting time, and that’s why you play.”