Bopara replaces Trott for England

by robbo277 Sat 6 Aug 2011 - 10:49

First topic message reminder :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/14430325.stm

Ravi called up to the 13 man squad.

Jonathan Trott has failed to recover from his shoulder injury and has been replaced by Ravi Bopara for the third Test against India.

Trott injured himself diving in the field during the second Test victory at Trent Bridge that put England 2-0 up in the four-Test series.

Chris Tremlett missed that game through injury but is named in the squad.

Steven Finn completes the 13-man party for the game, which starts at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

Bopara has averaged 37.65 in first-class cricket in 2011, scoring three centuries for Essex. This week he scored 19 and 25 playing against Sri Lanka A for the England Lions at Scarborough.

He last played a Test for England against Australia at Headingly in 2009.

A win for England will clinch the series and lift them to the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings.

Tim Bresnan replaced Tremlett at Trent Bridge and took five wickets in the second innings, having also scored 90 in England's crushing win.

National selector Geoff Miller said: "Ravi Bopara comes in for Jonathan Trott, who is continuing his rehabilitation from his shoulder injury.

"Chris Tremlett is recovering well from the back spasms that ruled him out of the second Test - and although we are expecting him to be fully fit ahead of Wednesday, we felt it was prudent to include an extra seam bowler at this stage.

"That means Steven Finn comes into the squad. We have seen some very pleasing performances during the first two npower Test matches.

"But there is still plenty more to do in this series, and the squad and management will be determined to carry the momentum from recent weeks through to the remaining two Tests and push for a comprehensive series victory."

England squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), Jimmy Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett.

So Bopara in for the injured Trott. A bit of a reflection of 2009, when Bopara was the man who made way for Trott to come into the Ashes winning side, a position he hasn't yet relinquished. I think Bell is likely to play at 3 again with Ravi coming in down the order (either at 5 or 6), but Ravi has played tests at 3 before. Trott will almost definitely take back his place when he returns from injury, so the only question is will Bopara score enough runs to oust Morgan from a place in this line-up? Although I'm not a huge fan of Bopara, I hope he goes well in this series to prove that there is a bit of depth underneath our front-line batsman.

I would also say Finn's inclusion could be a sign that Tremlett will definitely miss the test, but their might be an element of kidology to that selection. The decision for the 3rd seamer spot will surely just come down to a straight shoot-out between Bresnan and Tremlett, with Bres obviously getting the nod if Tremlett is ruled out due to injury. Finn will only come in if Tremlett is ruled out and another seamer goes down injured.

by liverbnz Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 15:07

dummy_half wrote:I really don't get the issue with Prior and ODIs - all he should need to do is bat like he does in Tests and he'd be as good as anyone we have as an ODI batsman, but for some reason he seems to try too hard and so fails frequently.

He needs to develop more shots to enable him to be more of a success in ODis. He is relatively easy to set fields to therefore struggles to get runs quickly in the shorter format. KP has had the same problem recently as well since he's become a predominantly on-side batsman.

by hopeforthebest Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 15:42

Bopara has on occasion shown promise but it's always turned out a case of 'flattered to deceive'.
Having both Morgan and Bopara at 5 & 6, is not an appealing thought. The idea of Bopara in and Tremlett returning in place of Bresnan worries me.

by Smile Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 15:45

Tremlett may not be fit.

by hopeforthebest Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 15:56

If Tremlett is fit which seems more likely than not, Bresnan is probable a better bet than Bopara.
He certainly bowls better, he fields better and there's good reason to believe he will bat better, or at least as well.
A lower order of:
Morgan
Prior
Bresnan
Broad
Swann
is to my mind as good as if not better than:
Morgan
Bopara
Prior
Broad
Swann

by hopeforthebest Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 16:33

If the England camp intend to stick rigidly to the 6 batsmen, 4 bowler set up. Why have they added Finn to the squad?
When Tremlett was injured at Lords they added Bresnan to the squad as cover and he's still there.
Surely this suggests that they seriously holding open the option of playing 5 bowlers, otherwise why do they need 5 pace bowlers fighting for 3 places? I can't seriously imagine they are considering leaving Swann out.

by Twitchey Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 16:56

hopeforthebest - similarly, I am not overjoyed at having Morgan / Ravi at 5 and 6 (with no Bresnan playing). Last match, Morgan did well against 'buffet bowling' but was out as soon the new ball arrived, and I don't fancy Ravi to do much if HIS MINDSET isn't right.

Regarding the inclusion of Finn, I honestly think that they are not taking any chances in the case 2 of the quicker bowlers get injured before Weds.

by Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 17:43

liverbnz wrote:^ Prior played in the WC for England. That was his most recent of many chances in ODis.

Oh he did dint yeah Doh

it was Davies who was left out. Sorry swiss cheese brain.

by hopeforthebest Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 18:19

Regarding the inclusion of Finn, I honestly think that they are not taking any chances in the case 2 of the quicker bowlers get injured before Weds.
--------------------------------------

If i were a gambling man I would put money on England going with 5 batsmen and 5 bowlers. I think Flower will have been impressed by the batting of Broad and Bresnan sufficiently to change his approach to this game.
When Trott is fit he will return to his favourite combination of 6/4.

by Guest Mon 8 Aug 2011 - 18:38

staggered james taylor isnt playing!

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