Daring Dominic makes his own scorching luck as the bess-t in Chennai’s heat

The scene was set, the sun still sparkling with no mercy on the bowlers and a physically tired batting unit in front, Dominic Bess had everything on his side to announce his arrival. Coming into the series, he was definitely destined to lead the spin attack but he hadn’t quite arrived yet in the longest format. Every time, he picked up wickets, it was quickly shut down as luck, poor batting or just great fielding. Enough of that!

Yet when the time came, he was chucked out for Jack Leach and Moeen Ali in the Ashes, ripped apart even at Somerset, being pushed to the second XI. The highs were high and the lows terribly low - for the youngster, who had big shoes to fill, a tall mountain to climb. The steps to the mountain certainly weren’t all glory - it had stages where every second step was a false one and the third, with doubts attached behind it. All he could manage is to get into the squad, rather narrowly against South Africa during the 2020 series, a bout of luck could go a long way in boosting his confidence. 

Within a few overs, one turned three in his second Test against the Proteas and his Test career had suddenly seen the rising sun. As Rassie Van der Dussen walked back, he had his first fifer, in South Africa, under pressure, which made it sweet but no guarantees were attached, as the riding luck could always step out and walk away. An entire English summer saw him show plenty of potential without much consistency and luck. 

Moeen Ali was back in the squad, it was Sri Lanka, a side that Ali had previously tormented. There wasn’t a better opportunity for England to have Ali run round the Sri Lankan circles before their showdown fixture against India. 

“It’s a proud moment because I’ve taken five wickets for England and no one can take that away from me. I probably haven’t bowled as well as I could have, and I got away with one or two but that’s cricket. I’ve also bowled very well on days and haven’t taken any poles,” he acknowledged how luck has been a constant part of his cricketing life. 

Suddenly his average had seen a sharp turn, from averaging 40 with the ball in 2020 to averaging 20.68 with the ball in 2021. The year was well within his rights of converting his luck into a golden one. Sri Lanka was just one part of it, where he emerged as a small picture in the world of Root. However, the realisation suddenly started gaining momentum - he didn’t get all the luck without any effort! It had to be attributed to the long spells, the ones where there was nothing going his way - absolutely nothing; rotten luck - dropped catches and missed stumpings. 

Archer had just created ripples, Anderson had seeded some doubts in the batsmen’s mind but when the spinners were introduced, lunch was around the corner. And when they came back, one of the best players of spin - Virat Kohli was at the crease. There were talks of how he was revitalised after a break, wanting to rip apart the English bowling unit. At the other end, the talk with Bess was always surrounded by - how much more can he get lucky? Does he deserve all the luck?

Bowling slightly wider from the crease, some drift, some air going his way, turn and bounce, what has happened here? Kohli walks back, but what has Bess really done? In the last three overs that Kohli had faced prior to the snarler, the off-spinner had set him up properly, consistently tying him down at the striker’s end. Gaining enough momentum and confidence from this, Bess produces a spicy delivery to get the prized scalp. 

Bess had arrived, this time without it being tainted, lucky or a poor shot played from the batsman - the off-spinner, the 24-year-old had just dismissed Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, one of the best batsman in the longest format. All on the back of sheer skills, utmost patience and truly spectacular bowling. Daring Dominic didn’t wait for luck to come his way, he rather made his own luck in Chennai’s heat.