YORKSHIRE Vikings have agreed a loan deal which will see Dom Bess return to the club for a large part of this summer’s Vitality Blast.

The Devon-born 21-year-old, will play the first 10 of 14 group-stage fixtures for the club - six of seven scheduled home clashes - including the much-anticipated home opener against Notts Outlaws on Friday, July 19, as well as the sold out home Roses fixture at Emerald Headingley on Thursday, July 25.

Having joined Yorkshire on a month’s loan in May, Bess played four matches in all, against Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Surrey, taking seven wickets and scoring 156 runs at an average of 39.00, with a batting best of 91.

“I’ve played a bit in red ball now but haven’t really established myself as a T20 cricketer,” he told yorkshireccc.com.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for me to really put all the skills I’ve practised into performances.

"Obviously, I’ve played a couple for the Lions and a bit more 50-over cricket for the Lions, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’ve bowled a lot around the T20 squads, I know the environment and I think it’s an amazing tournament.

"I’m really looking to kick on and perform for Yorkshire and get them to the top of that table. The North Group has some really good sides in it and hopefully it will be good fun.

“I had some great fun when I was with the lads previously and I managed to forge a lot of good relationships. It will be nice and easy to get back into that environment again and get stuck into a great tournament. Hopefully, I will be able to enjoy the experience of a Roses clash if I get that crack, but I can’t wait!”

Off-spinning all-rounder Bess becomes the club’s second T20 acquisition for this summer’s Blast, hot on the heels of explosive West Indian batsman Nicholas Pooran, who is scheduled to link up with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday.

Bess, if selected for the Taunton club, will face Yorkshire in Saturday’s Specsavers County Championship fixture at Emerald Headingley.

On what he would like to achieve during his spell with the Vikings, Bess added: “I’ve got to look at my personal development and I think it’s a great opportunity for me.

"I’m very thankful for Yorkshire for taking a punt on me. I’ve done some good stuff in red ball but recognise that T20 is a completely different game. I’m always pushing to be a three-dimensional cricketer, to do well with the ball, bat and in the field. I think T20 in particular brings all three of those skills in. For me as a player, I’ve definitely got something to bring and also a point to prove as well.

“It’s a great opportunity for me in a different competition and group stage. I’ve come back here, done well for Somerset and I’ve got a year left.

"I’ve got to see how things go. A lot of things can happen within a year, as I know.

"Probably the greatest example I can give is that I got to the top of Mount Everest with the Test stuff and then fell off and then came back again.

"So I think it will be a very similar answer to last time, I just want to play my 10 games, contribute and push hard and then see what happens.”

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “We want to have a really good go at the T20 and I think we’ve shown that in signing Nicholas Pooran for the first five games. He’ll hopefully help get us off to a good start.

“With Dom, we’ve seen just what a good cricketer he is in the four Championship games he spent with us.

"In a way, it’s tough on our back-up spinners, but at the same time when someone of Dom’s ability and quality become available then if we’re serious about trying to win the competition, then we’ve got to look at it.

“I think we go into the T20 campaign with a very strong squad.”