Yorkshire CCC comes first as Dom Bess looks to spin his way back into England Test reckoning

Bess is bowling well enough to come into contention for the New Zealand series that starts next month.

The Yorkshire off-spinner made the last of his 14 Test appearances against India in Ahmedabad last year.

“In terms of England, I’ve not thought about that whatsoever this summer, and that’s being totally frank,” said Bess.

“I just want to develop and have real confidence in myself, which I do at the moment, and then cross that border, so to speak.

“Whoever the spinner is for England, whether it’s Leachy (Jack Leach), Parky (Matt Parkinson) or myself, then as long as they’re in the best headspace, great.

“It’s not off the cards (England), but I’m just trying to bowl well for Yorkshire.”

Bess has done a good job for the club this season without necessarily gaining the rewards his efforts have deserved.

He has taken nine wickets in four games but his economy rate of 2.18 is among the best in the country, fractionally better than that of Parkinson and also that of Leach, and he has got through more work than anyone else in Division One, sending down 187 overs.

Bess has toiled on some very flat pitches, which have offered him nothing, and he has also contributed with the bat, scoring a fine 89 against Kent at Headingley.

The 24-year-old offers more with the bat than Leach and Parkinson, with Leach currently the spinner in possession having played all three Tests in the recent West Indies series.

“The wickets have been placid wickets so far this season and good wickets to bat on,” said Bess, whose Test record already hints at his potential – 36 wickets at 33.97.

“As a spinner, I’ve been learning how to hold my best ball for seriously long periods, and my number one rule is to bowl your best ball and to create opportunities.

“I think the way I’m bowling, the processes and everything around it, I am getting opportunities and that’s all I can do. It’s about putting in the graft now and it’s just nice to be out there playing again.”

Bess hopes the pitches will spin more in midsummer and towards the season’s back end having done an important job for the team so far.

With the pitches like roads and Yorkshire down to the bare bones bowling-wise, following injuries to key personnel such as Haris Rauf, Matty Fisher and Ben Coad, it has made it even more imperative that Bess has held up an end and afforded control, enabling captain Steve Patterson to rest and best manage the pace bowlers he has had available.

“Fast bowlers can’t bowl all the time, and they’re probably not as interested in bowling that many overs on the sort of wickets that we’ve seen lately, so then it (the ball) gets chucked to the spinners,” added Bess.

“You might not get many rewards (in terms of wickets), but we talk about creating opportunities and that’s a real positive for me; it means I must be doing something right.

“Holding games and making sure we’re at the front foot of it is really important, and all the boys have been putting in the graft. In terms of what the team needs and how it’s coming out, it’s really positive for me at the moment, and I’m just taking it as it comes and trying not to look too far ahead.”

This week will see a meeting between Bess and Parkinson in the County Championship Roses match at Headingley that starts on Thursday. The pair have obvious respect for each other.

“We’re close mates,” said Bess. “I think Parky has got a big future ahead of him. He’s also the best leg-spinner we’ve got at the moment because Rash (Yorkshire’s Adil Rashid) is only playing white-ball cricket. In terms of Parky’s development, he’s going really well, and he’s a pretty resilient character, too.”

Colin Graves, the former Yorkshire supremo and ex-chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has received the necessary 20 nominations to put his name forward for one of the two member vacancies on the club’s new board. Candidates are set to be presented to members for approval at an EGM in July.

Members will also be asked to approve, at the annual meeting on May 28, six non-executive director appointments: former paralympic athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson; Lucy Amos, head of social media at The Walt Disney company; finance expert Leslie Ferrar; commercial director Nolan Hough; Yaseen Mohammed, chair of Park Avenue Bradford and a trustee of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, and legal expert Kavita Singh.

The rest of the board will be chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel, acting chief executive Paul Hudson, interim managing director of cricket Darren Gough and existing director Trevor Strain.