Dom Bess relishes 'learning on the job' after small but vital role in England's victory

Every day in the Test team is a chance to "learn on the job", according to Dom Bess, England's rookie offspinner, who said he would take a lot of confidence from his small but significant role in defeating West Indies at Emirates Old Trafford and squaring the series with one Test to play.

Bess, who turns 23 on the eve of Friday's third Test, picked up two wickets on the final day of the second Test, including the matchwinning dismissal of Kemar Roach and the vital scalp of West Indies' captain, Jason Holder, as England overcame some stiff mid-afternoon resistance to surge to a 113-run victory midway through the final session.

And while there's no guarantee that Bess will retain his place in England's attack for the series decider - the surfeit of right-handers in West Indies' line-up means that Jack Leach, whose left-arm angle takes the ball away from the bat more regularly, could come into consideration - the fact that he's played a part in another England victory, his fourth in six appearances since his debut against Pakistan in 2018, will give him plenty satisfaction for now.

"The boys were obviously very happy with that," Bess told Sky Sports at the end of the Test. "More relief I reckon than anything. As it was getting on, it just felt like the ball was getting a little bit softer. You could see the lads [feeling the effects of] having overs under their belt, and it was the first game back for three of them. So, we're just very happy to level the series and now go into next Test with it all to play."

Bess's figures of 2 for 59 in 15.1 overs were not the sort of dominant fifth-day performance that spinners are generally picked to produce, but as the bowler himself acknowledged, his opportunities for much of the day were restricted by his place in the pecking order - in particular, the need for him to perform a holding role at the Brian Statham End of the ground, while the seamers utilised the favourable breeze and variable bounce being generated from the James Anderson End.

It wasn't until the 61st over of the innings, when Ben Stokes took over at the Statham End with another energetic spell of short-pitched bowling, that Bess was given a chance to attack from his preferred end, and he produced one of the key moments of the day when he spun a big offbreak through Holder's defences to bowl the West Indies captain for 35.

"We talked about roles, we talked about bowling as a collective," Bess said. "My role at that time was probably bowling the other end and trying to create as many chances as I could at that end. There were some that spun from there and I felt like I was in the game, but I was leaking a little bit. I was quite happy when I got to come up to the top end, and bowl with the wind, and a bit of rough."

Much of that rough outside the right-hander's off-stump was created by the left-arm angle of Sam Curran, another of the young players whom England have trusted to hone their games on the highest stage. And as Curran helped to make it eight wins out of eight on the occasions that he's featured in an England home Test since his own debut in 2018, Bess hoped that the pair could have a long and fruitful partnership as a bowling combination.

"Perfect!" was Bess's assessment of the rough that Curran creates in his follow-through. "Hopefully he can get a little bit heavier and keep running in, but it was in a good area and I knew where my length had to be on it. I knew I had to pull it back and make sure I got as many balls in there as possible, and be as consistent as possible.

"I think I really built that pressure," he added. "I feel like I'm learning every day, and I know that's a bit of a cliché, but it's genuine with me because when I'm on the job I'm going through so many emotions."

And that's little wonder, given the fluctuations of fortune that Bess has endured in his short career - which encompassed a loan spell to Yorkshire last season when his first-team opportunities at Somerset dried up with Leach ensconced as the first-choice spinner, and a late call-up to England's Test team in South Africa in December, where he starred with five first-innings wickets in their victory in Port Elizabeth.

More recently, Bess has been linked with a permanent move to Warwickshire, where he is being earmarked as a successor to their long-term spinner, Jeetan Patel, while his game-craft was honed on the England Lions camp in Sri Lanka last winter, where he worked on his seam position with Rangana Herath. But for the time being, he's obliged to do most of his learning on the big stage.

"I'm talking with Daws [Richard Dawson, England spin coach] a lot about how consistent can I be in that area," he added. "But I think going back up to that end, and producing some of those balls that I did, it's given me a lot of confidence."