In January 2020, during the third Test against South Africa in Gqeberha, Dom Bess, then 22, became the first English spinner to take the first five wickets of an innings since Derek Underwood in 1975. Bess, who had not been in England's original touring party and arrived only after Jack Leach fell ill, took a return catch to dismiss Pieter Malan, had Zubayr Hamza caught at short leg, and then removed Dean Elgar, Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen.
A brief breakthrough
Bess played another 11 Tests, took a second five-wicket haul in Galle and collected 36 wickets at 33.97. His final Test came against India in Ahmedabad in March 2021, when he was 23.
England return to South Africa this winter for three Tests, with no guarantee they will take a frontline spinner. The recent innings victory against Pakistan was secured with seamers taking all 20 wickets, and there is a growing argument that an extra batter who can turn his arm offers better balance.
The gap between spinners and part-timers
Bess, now 29 and entering what he calls "the prime" of his career, is unconvinced. "There's a real difference between filling a gap and properly holding an end up, building pressure and getting wickets," he says. "I think the public and the media don't realise how big the gap is between genuine spinners and part-timers."
He describes a familiar bind: "You're sort of the first one to be dropped when they need rotation. But then when you go to subcontinent conditions, you're the first two or one to get the job done when it's needed. There's very little security there."
Structural problems in domestic cricket
The problem is at least partly structural. In 2022, the England and Wales Cricket Board's high-performance review found that just 22% of deliveries in English domestic first-class cricket since 2014 had been bowled by spinners, the lowest proportion of any major cricket nation. Its conclusion was blunt: "Spinners have limited opportunity to develop in the domestic game."
Bess and Leach emerged at Somerset, one of the few counties prepared to build games around spin, only for the club to receive a 12-point deduction after the pitch used for the 2019 title decider against Essex was judged poor for offering excessive turn.
A merry-go-round of young spinners
Bess describes a cycle in which English cricket identifies a young spinner, backs him, then searches for the next before he has fully developed his trade. Since Graeme Swann retired in 2013 with 255 Test wickets, Ali, Rashid, Leach, Bess and now Shoaib Bashir have all been presented as the answer.
"Even though I never felt fully settled I did think I'd get a longer run," Bess says. "At least I hoped I would. But I turned 23 and they wanted someone else. The cycle repeats. It can feel like a bit of a grind. All you can do is do your work and get wickets for your county. But I'm happy with where my game is going."
Bess notes that Swann only got into the Test side at 29, then played for five or six years in one of the most successful teams England have produced. Bess is 29 now and relishing the prospect of five weeks on dry County Championship pitches. Last week both he and Leach bagged five-fers in victories for Yorkshire and Somerset respectively.
"You'd like to be thinking that some important people are watching," Bess says. Six years after Gqeberha, perhaps they still are.
World Test Championship race
The race for a spot in the World Test Championship final next year is hotting up, but England are not really in the mix. Joe Root's side languish seventh after five wins from 14 Tests, with Australia leading the standings on 80%, followed by South Africa on 75% and New Zealand on 72.22%. Bangladesh and India, on 55.56% and 53.33% respectively, retain hopes.
Bangladesh's historic victory in Darwin briefly blew the race wide open before Australia responded with an innings win in Mackay. Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar remains bullish about their chances, with home series against West Indies and England still to come before a trip to South Africa. India have revived a faltering campaign with a thumping victory in Galle.
New Zealand play four Tests in Australia across December and January, having won one Test series there before. South Africa, having already claimed a remarkable 2-0 series victory in India, sit second and will host Australia, Bangladesh and England before finishing their campaign in Sri Lanka.
England have played 14 Tests, lost eight and surrendered 14 points to slow over-rates. Even victory against Pakistan has left them stranded on 29.76%.
