While Leach has been England’s first-choice spinner in recent times, claiming 34 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 29.02, the England team management have been impressed by Bess’ progress, especially with his improvement on a spin camp in India.

Though only called up as cover partway through the tour, Bess leapfrogged Matt Parkinson to take Leach’s place when the left-armer was ruled out of the second Test at Cape Town with illness, and impressed, conceding under two runs an over across the Test and bowling over a third of England’s overs before the second new ball was taken in the first innings.

Bess is also, in theory, a more accomplished batsman than Leach, with a first-class century, an average of 23.35 and a half-century on Test debut to his name, though Leach’s exploits with the bat this summer have shown he is more than capable of wielding a willow.

On the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine editor Jo Harman, WCM editor-in-chief Phil Walker, host Yas Rana, and Wisden writer Ben Gardner discussed whether Somerset’s No.2 could become England’s No.1:

Jo Harman: I would go for Leach rather than Bess. Bess has done really well in this Test match but Leach is still England’s first-choice spinner in the absence of Moeen Ali and I don’t think Bess has done quite enough to change that.

JH: Leach is well-versed at winning county matches for Somerset on a final day, and that’s got to mean something. Bess has always been support to Leach.

YR: For Bess to somehow be England’s first-choice spinner I don’t think is right.

Do we know what the Port Elizabeth pitch is supposed to be like?

PW: In the past, there’s not been a huge amount of success for spin bowlers.

YR: I’d pick a four-man seam attack I think. Root and Denly both bowled pretty well.

PW: That would be my team.