Ravi Bopara

Ravi Bopara

Personal information
Full name	Ravinder Singh Bopara
Born	4 May 1985 (1985-05-04) Forest Gate, London, England
Nickname	Puppy/Rav
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 637)	1 December 2007 v Sri Lanka
Last Test	18 August 2011 v India
ODI debut (cap 202)	2 February 2007 v Australia
Last ODI	18 February 2012 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2002–present	Essex
2006–2008	MCC
2009–2010	Kings XI Punjab
2009–2010	Auckland Aces
2010	Dolphins
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	12	72	121	200
Runs scored	553	1,668	7,452	5,704
Batting average	34.56	30.32	41.63	38.02
100s/50s	3/0	0/8	20/29	6/34
Top score	143	96	229	201*
Balls bowled	326	689	8,908	4,259
Wickets	1	13	134	144
Bowling average	212.00	45.84	42.64	26.55
5 wickets in innings	0	0	1	1
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	1/39	4/39	5/75	5/63
Catches/stumpings	6/–	23/–	72/–	60/–
Source: CricketArchive, 25 February 2012

Ravinder Singh ("Ravi") Bopara (born 4 May 1985) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex and England. He is the second Sikh to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar. Originally a top-order batsman, but with his developing medium pace bowling, he is becoming a vital all-rounder. He was first called up to the England ODI team in 2007, before a difficult Test debut in Sri Lanka saw him dropped in early 2008 after a string of three ducks. He regained his place for a Test against the West Indies in the winter of 2008-09, however, and scored a century batting at number three. Bopara held on to the number three position for the May 2009 home Test series against the West Indies, scoring a century in both tests, and was named in the preliminary 2009 Ashes squad. Bopara has also enjoyed success in the Indian Premier League, where he played for the Kings XI Punjab.

Career

Early days

Educated at Brampton Manor School, Bopara made his first-class debut for Essex in May 2002. In 2003 and 2004, he played several matches for England U-19s, including in the 2004 U-19 Cricket World Cup.

Bopara playing against Cambridge UCCE, April 2005

In the 2005 season, he scored 880 first-class runs, including his first first-class century. He also hit 135 in a non-first-class match against the touring Australians, putting on 270 for the second wicket with Alastair Cook, and in 2006 he was selected for England A in their March tour of the West Indies, as well as their matches against the touring Sri Lankans and Pakistanis in the summer of that year. In July, he was selected in England's 30-man provisional squad for the 2006 Champions Trophy. He was select for the third edition of World T20 in Caribbean .

England player

In January 2007 Kevin Pietersen sustained a rib injury in England's first One Day International against Australia, keeping him out of the remainder of the series. Bopara was called up as his replacement, and made his ODI debut on 2 February. Later that month, he was named in the England squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and he played his second ODI in England's second match of that tournament. In England's match against Sri Lanka, Bopara was named man of the match for his 52 off 53 balls, which brought England to within three runs of victory from a seemingly hopeless position. The partnership for the seventh wicket was an English World Cup record and was the second record partnership made by Bopara in the tournament, following his record fifth wicket partnership with Paul Collingwood against Canada. On 30 August he again featured in a prominent tail end partnership, this time with Stuart Broad as the pair added an unbeaten 99 for the 8th wicket to defeat India at Old Trafford. Bopara finished 43 not out.

In June 2007, he made his highest ever first-class score, against Northamptonshire striking 229 runs off 391 balls, including 27 fours, and one six. He was picked in the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in September 2007, but was injured and was unable to go.

Test debut

He made his Test debut in the tour to Sri Lanka in December 2007 but had a poor series, scoring only 42 runs in five innings including three ducks, and taking only one wicket at an average of 81. One BBC commentator described him as "well out of his depth at Test level", and Bopara was subsequently selected in the ODI squad but not the Test squad for the tour to New Zealand in early 2008. However, he returned to the Test squad for the fourth Test against South Africa in August 2008, following a good season for Essex in the County Championship.

On 4 June 2008, Bopara recorded his highest List A score in the quarter finals of the Friends Provident Trophy. He scored an unbeaten 201 runs off 138 balls, including 18 fours and 10 sixes. Bopara's score was just the eighth instance of a double hundred in the history of List A cricket and the highest for six years. On 9 September 2008 Bopara was then named in England's 15-man squad for the inaugural Stanford Super Series in Antigua. There, England took on the Middlesex Crusaders and Trinidad and Tobago before facing the Stanford All-Stars on 1 November. The winning players in that match would have earned $1million each, with a further $1million being shared between the four players left out of the side. This never came to fruition, however, as England fell to a heavy defeat in the final. The same day, Bopara was also handed an Increment Contract by the ECB.

Success against the West Indies

On 18 February 2009, Bopara, along with Amjad Khan, was invited to join the England Test squad on their tour of the West Indies as cover for Andrew Flintoff who was struggling with a hip injury. He scored 124 not out in a warm up match, earning him a place in the 4th Test against the West Indies. In the first innings he scored his maiden Test century with 104 off 143 balls before being caught. He was dropped for the next Test of the series, however he was re-selected for the first Test of the home series against the West Indies on 6 May. There he scored his second consecutive Test century, scoring 143 runs from 186 balls. He then scored another century in the second Test, becoming only the fifth England player to score three consecutive centuries. He credited his success to his coaching by Graham Gooch at Essex. Meanwhile, Australians Mitchell Johnson and Ricky Ponting stated to local media that they were going to target Bopara in particular during the upcoming 2009 Ashes series, while journalists likened Bopara's Test resurgence to the arrival of Nasser Hussain, whereas others, most notably Sachin Tendulkar, described his emerging talents as "special".

2009 Ashes

Bopara getting hit in the throat by a bouncer during the first Test of the 2009 Ashes series at the SWALEC Stadium.

On 22 June, the England selectors announced a sixteen-man preliminary Ashes squad for that summer's series; it included Bopara. Cricinfo staff wrote that "Bopara's stock could not be higher". Shane Warne, meanwhile, stated to the Daily Mirror that he did not view Bopara as an international cricketer, criticising his temperament. He found success in a warm-up match against Warwickshire, however, scoring 104 while opening with Andrew Strauss.

Bopara struggled during the series, however, with scores of 35, one, 18, 27, 23, one and a duck. He was dismissed by Ben Hilfenhaus in five of his seven innings. Speculation grew about his position for the final Test, where England required a win to regain the Ashes, and it was announced on 16 August that Bopara had been dropped in favour of uncapped Jonathan Trott, who went on to score a century on debut. Bopara returned to Essex and scored 201 against Surrey, and it was announced on 11 September that he had been awarded an "incremental contract" with England, as had Trott.

Trott kept his Test place after his impressive debut, and Bopara saw Michael Carberry and Eoin Morgan make their Tests debuts in the away and home series against Bangladesh respectively, with Bopara making neither squad. However, some impressive form for Essex in domestic 40-over and Twenty20 cricket, as well as a century for the England Lions saw him recalled to the ODI team for the series decider against Bangladesh, after injuries to Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. Bopara hit a late innings of 45 not out from just 16 balls and took career-best ODI bowling figures of 4/38.

2011 World Cup

Bopara headed for the West Indies with England Lions in January 2011 after he missed out for the 2010-11 Ashes series Test and One day squad and the 2011 World Cup. His stay in the Caribbean was cut short when he was called up to England's World Cup squad before the tournament as a replacement for the injured Eoin Morgan. Bopara played in England's opening match against the Netherlands and scored a match-winning 30 from 20 balls. After that, he did not play against India and Ireland as England chose to field a second spinner, Michael Yardy. Bopara returned to play against South Africa in place of the dropped Paul Collingwood. Bopara came in with the score at 15/3 and managed a partnership of 99 with Trott; Bopara ended with 60 of 98 balls. England restricted South Africa to 165 and Bopara was named the man of the match.

Summer 2011

In 2011, Bopara turned down £100,000 to play for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL as a late replacement for the injured Paul Collingwood. After Collingwood retired from Tests, Bopara and Morgan were the leading contenders to take his place in the side. Bopara, who had already scored two centuries in the County Championship by May, was the favourite however an innings of 193 by Morgan for the England Lions against the touring Sri Lankans kept Bopara out of the Test side. After missing out on the series against Sri Lanka, he returned to the team in August for the third Test against India in place of the injured Trott.

In the following ODI series with India, Bopara was England's top run scorer with 197. In the tied fourth ODI Bopara hit a career-best 96 before being dismissed by Munaf Patel.

On 23 September 2011, Bopara claimed the best bowling figures by an Englishman in a T20 international with 4-10.

Achievements

Test centuries

Ravi Bopara's Test Centuries
	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
[1]	104	4	West Indies	Bridgetown, Barbados	Kensington Oval	2009
[2]	143	5	West Indies	London, England	Lord's	2009
[3]	108	6	West Indies	Chester-le-street, England	Riverside Ground	2009

References

• McGlashan, Andrew (17 August 2009). "Making a World Cup claim". CricInfo. ESPN. http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/256684.html. 

External links

• Player profile: Ravi Bopara from ESPNcricinfo
• Player Jingle: Ravi Bopara
• Player Profile: Ravi Bopara from CricketArchive