Ravi Bopara Eyes England Recall in Andrew Flintoff's Absence
Big hitting in the Indian Premier League may have brought Ravi Bopara to the selectors' attention with perfect timing
By the time Ravi Bopara walks out to open the innings for Kings XI Punjab against Mumbai Indians at Kingsmead tomorrow he will have a better idea of the selectors' plans for his future. England name their squad in the morning for next week's first Test against West Indies at Lord's and Bopara is happy to admit he has his eye on the No6 slot suddenly freed up by Andrew Flintoff's knee injury. Since his previous Test innings, in Barbados in February, brought him a hundred, the distraction is understandable.
Timing counts for plenty in the fluent world of the England dressing room and – despite rival claims from Owais Shah, Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan – Bopara may have got his just right. Not long after news spread of Flintoff's premature departure from the Indian Premier League last Thursday, Bopara compiled a match-winning 84 in 59 balls and brushed aside Kevin Pietersen's Bangalore Royal Challengers. Test cricket it was not but, if England want spark, energy and some serious talent, they may have their man.
"I've always wanted to get back into that Test team after what happened in Sri Lanka and I got my chance in West Indies," said Bopara, referring ruefully to a run of three Test ducks in Colombo and Galle in December 2007. "I knew someone was going to miss out in that last Test in Trinidad and I had a feeling it was going to be me, even though I'd just scored a hundred. It was disappointing but you've just got to get on with it."
After his Sri Lankan travails, Bopara was not picked for the Test team again for more than a year. Yet even after his comeback century in Bridgetown, the decision to give Shah a run at No3 plus the need to strengthen the bowling for the final Test at Port-of-Spain cost him his place once more. But if the experience has redoubled the hunger, his confidence remains as perky as ever.
"I always knew that I could get runs at Test level," he said yesterday. "I just needed that opportunity again. And I was desperate for it. But I knew I had to create it myself. It wasn't just going to happen. I'm really happy with the way it went and now that Fred's injured, I'm definitely eyeing up that No6 spot."
Bopara's fate is untypical of the 21st-century England Test batsman, who as a breed stands accused of throwing away the keys to an already closed shop. But that may change under the new team director, Andy Flower, and Bopara, who knows Flower well from their time together at Essex, is in no doubt.
"I still want to experience Test cricket," he said. "I still don't think I've had a massive taste of it. It would be nice to go in at No6 and re-settle in and, if needed, move up the order. That would be perfect but I'd take anything right now."
His IPL experience has done him no harm. While bigger-name compatriots have melted in the South African furnace, Bopara's innings last Thursday restored national pride and even earned him dinner with, among others, Preity Zinta, the Bollywood actress who co-owns the Punjab franchise.
"I'm still part of the England team here as well, even if I can't repeat what KP said to me after the game the other night," said a smiling Bopara. "I know my job is to play for Punjab and get stuck in but I'm still representing England and I want to create that impression that English guys can play a massive part in the IPL."
How much longer Bopara will play a part here depends on the selectors. If they name him tomorrow, he will fly home after the Mumbai game. If not, he will have another week to prepare for what will almost certainly be an opener's role in June's Twenty20 World Cup. Either way, the IPL has suited him down to the ground.
Timing counts for plenty in the fluent world of the England dressing room and – despite rival claims from Owais Shah, Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan – Bopara may have got his just right. Not long after news spread of Flintoff's premature departure from the Indian Premier League last Thursday, Bopara compiled a match-winning 84 in 59 balls and brushed aside Kevin Pietersen's Bangalore Royal Challengers. Test cricket it was not but, if England want spark, energy and some serious talent, they may have their man.
"I've always wanted to get back into that Test team after what happened in Sri Lanka and I got my chance in West Indies," said Bopara, referring ruefully to a run of three Test ducks in Colombo and Galle in December 2007. "I knew someone was going to miss out in that last Test in Trinidad and I had a feeling it was going to be me, even though I'd just scored a hundred. It was disappointing but you've just got to get on with it."
After his Sri Lankan travails, Bopara was not picked for the Test team again for more than a year. Yet even after his comeback century in Bridgetown, the decision to give Shah a run at No3 plus the need to strengthen the bowling for the final Test at Port-of-Spain cost him his place once more. But if the experience has redoubled the hunger, his confidence remains as perky as ever.
"I always knew that I could get runs at Test level," he said yesterday. "I just needed that opportunity again. And I was desperate for it. But I knew I had to create it myself. It wasn't just going to happen. I'm really happy with the way it went and now that Fred's injured, I'm definitely eyeing up that No6 spot."
Bopara's fate is untypical of the 21st-century England Test batsman, who as a breed stands accused of throwing away the keys to an already closed shop. But that may change under the new team director, Andy Flower, and Bopara, who knows Flower well from their time together at Essex, is in no doubt.
"I still want to experience Test cricket," he said. "I still don't think I've had a massive taste of it. It would be nice to go in at No6 and re-settle in and, if needed, move up the order. That would be perfect but I'd take anything right now."
His IPL experience has done him no harm. While bigger-name compatriots have melted in the South African furnace, Bopara's innings last Thursday restored national pride and even earned him dinner with, among others, Preity Zinta, the Bollywood actress who co-owns the Punjab franchise.
"I'm still part of the England team here as well, even if I can't repeat what KP said to me after the game the other night," said a smiling Bopara. "I know my job is to play for Punjab and get stuck in but I'm still representing England and I want to create that impression that English guys can play a massive part in the IPL."
How much longer Bopara will play a part here depends on the selectors. If they name him tomorrow, he will fly home after the Mumbai game. If not, he will have another week to prepare for what will almost certainly be an opener's role in June's Twenty20 World Cup. Either way, the IPL has suited him down to the ground.
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