Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess wants Yorkshire to make the headlines by winning the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Dom Bess believes winning this season’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup could set the ball rolling on a exciting period of success for Yorkshire’s men.
The White Rose, under Bess’s captaincy, are closing in on knockout cricket.
They lead Group B with four wins from five games and 16 points. With three games remaining, the top three teams in the group secure qualification for at least the quarter-finals. The group winner advances directly through to the semi-finals.
Bess, who was speaking ahead of Yorkshire’s next game against Durham at Scarborough on Friday – 11am, also says he is loving leading the side in 50-over cricket.
“With the group we’ve got now, there should be no reason why we shouldn’t be getting to, obviously, quarters and semi-finals,” said the off-spin bowling all-rounder.
“Once you get there, then it’s game by game and can you play the best cricket on the day?”
Bess joined Yorkshire ahead permanently ahead of 2021 having spent time on loan with the county in 2019.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess greets Warwickshire captain Ed Barnard at the toss ahead of the opening game of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup earlier this month.
During that pre-Covid summer, Somerset won this competition, and Bess played twice for them but not in the final victory over Hampshire.
“There’s a non-negotiable, you want to win things,” he said. “That’s why I moved to Yorkshire in the first place.
“But we’ve got to make sure that it’s not all about outcome. I think there’s some bigger things brewing as well within the club.
“You’ve seen a group of players now who are going to probably be the majority the next couple of years. That’s really exciting. But, within that, you can install winning things now.
“If you win a 50 over comp, you’ve got a trophy under your belt and you can keep driving and keep working. That’s the exciting thing from our point of view, and certainly my point of view as captain.”
Yorkshire have shown impressive consistency in this competition, ironically only losing to Bess’s former county Somerset at York’s Clifton Park last Thursday.
They bounced back impressively to hammer Middlesex by seven wickets chasing 130 at Radlett on Sunday.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess has been delighted with the performances of his Yorkshire side in 50-over cricket recently. Ben Cliff and Harry Duke have been a major part of that.
“We go back to consistency of ourselves as blokes,” Bess said. “I think, in the past three years, everyone, including myself, has gone through that understanding of trying to be as consistent as possible. And I think you’re starting to see that.”
Bess, aged 28, is very much part of the furniture at Headingley. This One-Day Cup campaign has taken him to and beyond the 150-appearance mark across all formats for Yorkshire. He currently stands at 154.
So much so, it almost went unnoticed that that he was playing against his former – and home – county last week.
“That’s two parts of a career, isn’t it,” he continued. “I started there, and I’m here now.
“Anthony McGrath and the coaches are driving it, and this is where I want to start winning things.
“You look back, of course, on your career with good memories and playing individually and wanting to play for England and stuff, but there’s also the element of team success.
“If you start getting team success, then individuals grow. That’s where we want to get to.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire coach Anthony McGrath knows a good weekend will qualify Yorkshire for the knockouts.
“I want to see the lads play for England and drive that. But I know that comes from, as a team, dominating games day in and day out and winning trophies.
“That’s the easiest way to get into things, and I think we’re right at the start of that and it’s a great opportunity.”
Asked to reflect on his time so far at Headingley, Bess said: “It’s been a really interesting ride.
“I’ve had three coaches, three different directors of cricket, a lot of opinions. But, for myself, to keep driving my standards and make sure that I’m here, it’s the longevity side of it.
“I’ve only just turned 28, so I’d like to think there’s a lot longer left in it as well.
“But, again, I’ll go back to the processes of it all, day in and day out. It’s all about the next game.”
Picture by Gareth Copley/Getty Images. Former Yorkshire Championship winner Alex Lees is likely to face his former county tomorrow. But he will not captain Durham at Scarborough. Wicketkeeper-batter Ollie Robinson will lead the county.
The captaincy is a role Bess took on for a couple of One-Day Cup games in 2021 and also as a stand-in during the Championship earlier in the season when Jonny Bairstow missed a game because of IPL duty.
He added: “I’ve really enjoyed it because I can trust the lads. They are great. I’ve loved it.”
This is the first of three remaining games. Sussex follow at Hove on Sunday before a trip to face Kent at Canterbury on Tuesday. It may be that one more win will be enough for Yorkshire to secure a top-three finish, but they will need more to top the group and advance directly to the semi-finals.
Durham are also in contention. They have won three and lost three from six games and sit on 12 points, four behind Yorkshire.
Last time out, yesterday, they beat Lancashire at Liverpool by four wickets chasing 321. Ben Raine claimed four wickets and Alex Lees, Will Rhodes and Ollie Robinson all posted half-centuries.
Former Yorkshire Championship-winning all-rounder Rhodes, in his first year at the Banks Homes Riverside, is their leading wicket-taker with 13 and their leading run-scorer with 387 in this competition.
