'Puppy' Bopara threatens to bite

Ravi Bopara is now in his sixth year of international cricket. Having made his debut in One-day Internationals as a 21 year-old, in the aftermath of England’s 5-0 Ashes embarrassment in 2006/07, he soon came within two runs of guiding England to a victory over eventual finalists Sri Lanka in the World Cup which followed. But his place in the team in still not secure in any format. Indeed many observers, including myself, would not have picked him for the ongoing series against Pakistan were it not for Jos Buttler’s hand injury. Yet convincing back-to-back fifties in the first two matches have been a crucial element in England’s success and it appears the player nicknamed ‘Puppy’ might just, finally, be starting to bite.

Parallels can be drawn between Bopara’s career to date and the early stages of that of England teammate James Anderson, now regarded as one of the foremost seam bowlers in world cricket. Anderson, too, started off with limited-overs success after the seniors had struggled down under and then performed well at a World Cup. However, a permanent place in the England team did not become his until 2008 – five years after his promising international initiation. Bopara will feel that that he needs to replicate that sort of upturn in fortunes if he is not to find himself on the scrapheap soon.

A particularly impressive element of the twin innings he played on Monday and Wednesday was the Zen-like coolness he displayed throughout. Allied on both occasions with his Essex colleague Alastair Cook he calmly picked off the bowling, playing more daring strokes only as the end of the innings approached and when given a loose delivery. This sobriety is not an attribute usually associated with Bopara. His disastrous maiden Test series in Sri Lanka and home Ashes campaign in 2009 both led to him being dropped from the team after showing signs of a poor temperament and lack of composure – something pointed out at the time by none other than Shane Warne, the master of mental warfare.

Bopara’s turn around began to become evident during an excellent home One-day International campaign against India at the back-end of last summer. In that series Bopara averaged a smidgen under 63 and his return to form, combined with his refined attitude to the game, could herald a further opportunity at Test level too. Eoin Morgan’s poor returns in the UAE where, despite being picked partly for his attacking ability against spin he struggled to play Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, suggests that he is unlikely to start ahead of Bopara in Sri Lanka next month. Bopara’s one-day displays, admittedly with the pressure of close fielders removed, have demonstrated a good technique against spin and one which should serve him well on the turning pitches expected in Galle and at Colombo’s P Sara Oval. And if he is left out Morgan will have little chance to push his claims for a return to the starting eleven – Indian Premier League bench warming commitments mean he is unlikely to play a first-class match for Middlesex until June, and Bopara could find himself with an extended run in the side.

If Bopara is to become an England regular consistency is the big issue he still has to sort out. Against the West Indies in 2009 he scored three consecutive Test hundreds – a feat rarely matched by any England batsman, let alone one playing in only their fourth, fifth and sixth Test matches – but ruined his good work in the Ashes which followed. After that home one-day series against India last year he did the same thing again. Scores of 8, 36, 24, 8 and 4 in October’s return leg meant that the credit he gained was swiftly wiped out and it seemed he was making a fresh start again in this week’s matches. This is a trait which needs to be cut out – top international players cannot let form come and go so easily and it suggests that he stops doing the things he did to find form too quickly when the runs start to flow. To solve this he could do well to learn from two of his Essex compatriots. Alastair Cook has shown on more than one occasion in the last couple of years how to make a run of form count, and there have been few more hungry batsmen in the last 30 years than Bopara’s country and county batting coach Graham Gooch.

So 2012 would appear to be a make or break year for Ravi Bopara. At the end of the year he may well have established himself as England’s Test number six and as a key part of the limited-overs teams. On the other hand he might be preparing himself for a decade or more of county cricket. Current form would suggest the former is the more likely and that the ‘Puppy’ is fast becoming fully grown.

Wouldn't say Bopara has proved anything. In the first match he was plumb LBW on 2, but the umpire wasn't at the races. Also missed stumping on 1. Second match, should've been run out for single figures. Against a better fielding side, he would've failed twice, and everyone would want him dropped.

Shelsey - agree with you about consistency being the big issue.

A couple of nips around the ankles doesn't make the puppy a pit bull.

Bopara's career has been a constant case of 'one step forward, two steps back', with the two India series last autumn being a prime example.

He is, in theory, the perfect #6 for Tests - a stroke-playing batsman who can chip in with some medium pace. He has a huge amount of talent - he has scored many centuries for Essex and has a Pro40 double-century, a feat achieved by very few.

Yet after nearly 100 international innings, he is not established and stand-out performances are few and far between.

His Test career has had the highs of the three hundreds. But there were also the three ducks. Considering that during the Pakistan Test series, people were asking if Bopara (or someone else) could do any worse, the answer in Bopara's case was yes!

For all his List A returns for Essex, he's only made one score above 60 for England and on average returns a fifty every 8 innings (though it is falling) and his strike rate is 75 - less than a certain Jonathan Trott.

In T20, he has a domestic T20 hundred for Essex, yet for England his strike-rate is 94.50 - worse than a run a ball, and worse than the aforementioned Trott who is thought to be too slow for the format.

So to the current series - he's doing very well. Two fifties at a good strike-rate, and he's contributed to two significant partnerships with Cook. I wouldn't say his twin fifties have been entirely convincing - he's had huge slices of luck, but crucially he's taken advantage of them.

If he continues his form throughout the series, it would be difficult to fault the selectors if they do pick him for the Test series. However if this proves to be another false dawn, what will they do with him?

m@tt

England already have strokeplayers at four & five - why would they want another one at six?

I know. But 6 is a position where if you can bat positively, you can really take the game away from your opposition - something that Bell and Prior have been especially good at of late.

That said, the Pakistan Test series suggested we perhaps lack some grit in the middle order if anything.

m@tt

Indeed - that's what I'm getting at. Surely it would be more sensible to priortise "grit" in replacing Morgan? Time for Taylor perhaps?

amanuensis wrote:m@tt

Indeed - that's what I'm getting at. Surely it would be more sensible to priortise "grit" in replacing Morgan? Time for Taylor perhaps?

Big Division 1 runs from Taylor early next season and he could make a very good case... wouldn't consider him for SL after a poor Lions trip to Bang and SL. My main concern is that he isn't really a number 6 - you could find yourself having put a big score on the board and actually wanting Prior, Broad, Swann to bad to a declaration rather than him.

Maybe. Debuting in Sri Lanka will be tough though. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the squad to face the West Indies this summer. Not sure about the Sri Lanka squad though - Bopara will certainly be picked, but Taylor could be competing with Morgan and Patel for the reserve batting place.

Part of me is thinking: just play Bopara now, get it over with (sounds worse than I mean. Who cares who the #6 is, as long as he does well and we're winning).

If he's changed and is good enough (mentally as well as technically), then fantastic - we've got a talented #6 who gives us a fifth bowling option. If not, we can move on and look at someone else.

Taylor played a good innings in front of one of the selectors last year, against Surrey when Tremlett was bowling at his best, on a helpful pitch. Taylor got 50 and was last man out - although it was only 50, in that sense, the innings won a lot of plaudits. A sign of a tough character? Perhaps.

Maybe. Debuting in Sri Lanka will be tough though. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the squad to face the West Indies this summer. Not sure about the Sri Lanka squad though - Bopara will certainly be picked, but Taylor could be competing with Morgan and Patel for the reserve batting place.

Part of me is thinking: just play Bopara now, get it over with (sounds worse than I mean. Who cares who the #6 is, as long as he does well and we're winning).

If he's changed and is good enough (mentally as well as technically), then fantastic - we've got a talented #6 who gives us a fifth bowling option. If not, we can move on and look at someone else.

Taylor played a good innings in front of one of the selectors last year, against Surrey when Tremlett was bowling at his best, on a helpful pitch. Taylor got 50 and was last man out - although it was only 50, in that sense, the innings won a lot of plaudits. A sign of a tough character? Perhaps.