BESS, Brandon Jeremy
D.O.B: December 13, 1987 (Berbice, Guyana)
Teams: Berbice, Guyana, West Indies
Brandon Bess is a tall, loose-limbed right-arm fast bowler who has been involved in 20 first-class matches to date since he made his debut for Guyana against Trinidad and Tobago at the Queen’s Park Oval in a four-day Carib Beer encounter in January, 2008.
One of his first-class games has been a solitary Test against South Africa in Barbados in mid-2010 when he was called up as a very late replacement for the Grenadian Nelon Pascal who had suffered a neck injury in the warm-up session prior to the commencement of the match.
When Bess was summoned he was at the Barbados-based Sagicor High Performance Centre – a high profile outfit where the most promising and talented regional cricketers undergo rigid training to maximise their skills – but so late was the call, he only arrived at the venue during the second over of the contest.
The South Africans had already taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and in this particular engagement the West Indies batted first and compiled 231.
When the visitors began their reply Bess shared the new ball with Kemar Roach but as has happened on most occasions in his brief career so far, he lacked control and proved expensive. In fact, the opposing captain Graeme Smith cracked three fours off his first over and he was promptly replaced by the off-spinner Shane Shillingford after a short two-over spell.
He did return the next day to claim the scalp of the nightwatchman Paul Harris but when South Africa closed their innings at 346 the speedster had taken one for 65 off nine overs – a rate of 7.22 runs per over.
With a deficit of 115 on first innings, the hosts were bundled out for a paltry 161 leaving South Africa to get only 47 for victory which they did for the loss of three wickets – all to the fiery Roach (3/22). For his part Bess went wicketless while sending down four overs and conceding 27 runs.
On the local scene he turns out for the Blairmont Cricket Club and has represented Berbice at the senior inter-county level where his ability to bowl fast has never been in doubt.
Raw and ragged, he was first selected for two regional first-class games in the 2008 Carib Beer tournament but figures of one for 102 off 17 overs while sending down a whopping 22 no-balls on debut against Trinidad was simply horrendous.

(Digicel: Guyana’s Bigger, Better Network)