He has attributed his career as a spinner to the shorter run up required compared to fast bowling: "I was always a little porker when I was younger, so I never took the long run-up," he said.

"[1] He was also a keen rugby player in his youth, playing fly-half, and attributes former Somerset fitness coach Darren Veness as the biggest influence on his strength and conditioning improvements.

[3] 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.

[16] Called up after an injury to his county teammate Jack Leach,[17] Bess made his Test debut for England against Pakistan on 24 May 2018 at Lord's.

[18] 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.

[21][22] 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.