Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess is set to face his former county at Headingley this week, hoping to derail the Somerset title bid.
There might be a touch of awkwardness in Mallorca next month if Dom Bess has his way and Yorkshire beat title-chasing Somerset at Headingley this week, starting tomorrow (10.30am).
Bess is getting married to his fiancee, Phoebe, in the Spanish sunshine quickly after the end of the season, with former Taunton team-mate Tom Abell his best man.
Abell and Somerset roll into town top of the Rothesay County Championship table and on course for their first ever four-day title. They are four points clear of second-placed Warwickshire and five ahead of third-placed Nottinghamshire, the defending champions.
It promises to be a fascinating conclusion to the Division One summer, with Yorkshire central to things as potential spoilers. They face Notts’ at Trent Bridge from next Thursday in their final game.
“Yeah, it would be good,” smiled Bess, when asked what it would feel like to derail the Somerset title challenge.
“It’s one of them, isn’t it, Somerset have never won it, they’re the longest servers in Division One, and I know how much it means to them.
“The good thing we’ve got over the next two weeks is the chance to put a spanner in both sides.
“It’d be nice to beat them.”
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Best mates Dom Bess and Tom Abell during their days as Somerset team-mates.
That is exactly what Yorkshire did at the start of May, winning the reverse fixture at Taunton by 75 runs. Bess took five wickets, including four in the second innings. He got Abell as part of that.
“The first thing is making sure I don’t get out to Jack Leech,” continued Bess. “Then, also, making sure I can have a crack at Abes before Kuldeep does or even Hilly or Whitey.
“But the most important thing is putting a spanner in the works and finishing as high as we can.”
Yorkshire head into this fixture full of confidence after last week’s innings victory inside three days against Essex at Headingley, to which Bess contributed a first-innings 80 not out and then five wickets with his off-spin across both innings.
Yorkshire sit fifth in Division One, 12 points behind Sussex, who hold fourth. Realistically, that is as high as the White Rose can expect to finish given the gap to third-placed Nottinghamshire is 42 points with 48 to play for.
“If we’d have won against Surrey, you’re then in a completely different scenario,” said Bess. “And I think this is how close we are (to success).
“I think you look at what we’ve got in there now, it’s seriously dangerous.”
Bess played age-group cricket for home county Devon before coming through the Somerset Academy and playing 27 first-class matches for them, taking 81 wickets and scoring 811 runs. One of those appearances was on loan in 2023.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess has had an impressive season with ball and bat.
Bess, who progressed through to England Test honours whilst at Somerset, joined Yorkshire ahead of 2021.
“The way we operated down there at Taunton at the start of the summer, to be so far behind the game and then dominate like we did, I know they’ll have eyes on us,” said the 29-year-old.
“If you’re chasing a title, you’ve got to win at places like here, which I know for a fact is not easy. I remember being a youngster coming up here, and it’s a hard place to win.”
And asked if there was a bit of him that wants Somerset to win their first ever title, Bess added: “If they do it by losing here and having to win elsewhere. I’d find it tough, though, if they won here.
“As a fan, as a player, it’s somewhere that put so much time and investment into me as a player. Of course, whenever they’re not playing against us, I want them to do well. But when it comes to here, it’s almost a complete opposite. I want them to get smacked.”
Since the return of Championship cricket to the schedule following the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and The Hundred late last month, Somerset have won three of four games, drawing the other, to take the lead in the top flight.
They won away at Leicestershire by 377 runs last week.
Captained by all-rounder Lewis Gregory, they have New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls and South African seamer Migael Pretorius as their overseas players.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. This week, Kuldeep Yadav plays his last of three Championship matches for this season.
Abell is the second leading run-scorer in Division One with 974, while Craig Overton – Somerset’s Vitality Blast quarter-final hero at Headingley in July – is the third leading wicket-taker in the division with 49, five ahead of Yorkshire’s George Hill.
White Rose overseas spinner Kuldeep Yadav will play his last game of the season for the county before heading back for international duty with India.
