Domestic career On 3 July 2016 Bess made his
first-class debut for Somerset during
Pakistan's tour of England. He failed to take a wicket (ending with match figures of 0-128) and scored a combined 25 runs. He made his
T20 debut for Somerset in their final game of the 2016 season against
Hampshire on 29 July 2016 in which he took bowling figures of 1-31 and scored a solitary run.
Championship debut Bess took 13 wickets in the later stages of the
2016 County Championship. He was included in the team for his first Championship game against
Warwickshire. His first two championship wickets were
Jonathan Trott and
Ian Bell, and he took career best figures of 6-28 from 16 overs in the first innings, and finished with match figures of 8-59 off 27 overs. Bess also featured heavily in Somerset's last game of the season against the already relegated
Nottinghamshire as he took his second career five wicket haul with 1st innings figures of 5-43 from 22.5 overs including a spell of 5 consecutive maidens, giving him match figures of 5-77 from 32.5 overs. He also scored 41 runs in Somerset's first innings. At the end of the 2016 season, Bess signed his first professional contract with Somerset agreeing a two-year deal; keeping him at the club until the end of the 2018 season. On 8 May 2019, Bess went on loan to
Yorkshire for a month. In August 2020, Bess confirmed that he would be leaving Somerset at the end of the season, subsequently it was announced that Bess had signed a four-year contract with
Yorkshire. In September 2024, Bess signed a new two-year contract with Yorkshire. He agreed a further two-year extension to remain at the club until at least the end of the 2028 season in April 2026.
International career Having previously represented England at U-19 level, Bess was included in the
England Lions squad in the summer of 2017 for a match against the touring South Africa A team, though he did not play. He was then selected for the Lions squads for the winter tours to Australia and the West Indies. He took 5/88 on his England Lions debut, in Antigua. Called up after an injury to his county teammate
Jack Leach, Bess made his Test debut for
England against
Pakistan on 24 May 2018 at
Lord's. Though he shared a century stand with
Jos Buttler in England's second innings – making a score of 57 – Bess failed to take a wicket or stop his side succumbing to a nine-wicket defeat. However, in the second Test of the series, Bess took his first Test wicket, of
Imam-ul-Haq. Overall in the match, he took 3 wickets and contributed 49 with the bat, as a
nightwatchman. England went on to win the match by an innings and 55 runs. In January 2020, in the third Test
against South Africa, Bess took his maiden
five-wicket haul in Test cricket. On 29 May 2020, Bess was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 17 June 2020, Bess was included in England's 30-man squad to start training
behind closed doors for the
Test series
against the West Indies. On 4 July 2020, Bess was named in England's thirteen-man squad for the first Test match of the series. ==References==