Baseball has changed county cricket — we know how we need to play, says Dom Bess

Dom Bess: 'If you want to get closer to the England team, you need to do these things: the things they want to do&#39 ; Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

When England last visited India, Dom Bess was in their squad. He is now working to «reinvent» himself in Yorkshire, but he has seen the impact of Ben Stokes' English revolution on county cricket — and even in Zimbabwe.

Bess recently returned from playing in the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe's top-class competition, and is looking to work on his game after a tough summer with Yorkshire. Playing for Southern Rocks, he scored 544 runs at 49, often batting at number three, and took 13 wickets.

Although Bess played the last of his 14 Tests in 2021, he says all domestic players know about it. you need to play in the style that Stokes' team wants.

“It's about enjoying cricket and I think that's non-negotiable,” he told the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast. “Of course, County Championship teams try to play like that. Obviously, Championship wickets are not as good as Test wickets, so there is this problem.

“But it’s funny, even in Zimbabwe [former Yorkshire bowler] Steve Kirby was the coach, we had Eddie Byrom. , which is in Glamorgan, me and a couple of other guys from Zimbabwe. We played the Tuskers and they started calling us Baseball because we were getting five runs an over. ;frameborder='0' width='100%' height='190px'>

“I think the emphasis is on ourselves and Eddie, we know how we want to play cricket now. And I think when you want to get closer to this England team, you have to do what they want too. So it was a great learning process, and also [playing this way] is a lot of fun.”

Bess says eliminating the fear of failure stands out. “From the outside it looks like the pressure is off and they are enjoying it,” he said. “And they're not afraid to lose. I think it was my career in England. I always thought you were playing for your place. You are under pressure. It was never about “go out and express yourself and support yourself.”

“They're just playing. They know they will have a place. They know that they will have a chance and opportunity to compete. And I think now you see a huge benefit from this.»