Ravi Bopara's ton against the West Indies in the first Test could end England's struggle for a reliable No 3 batsman
Ravi Bopara's ton against the West Indies in the first Test could end England's struggle for a reliable No 3 batsmanu00a0u00a0
Ravi Bopara, now being hailed by the British press as the answer to England's prayers for a reliable No. 3 Test batsman, attributes his attacking stroke-play to his experience in the Indian Premier League.
"I think it worked to my advantage coming from the IPL, because as a batter, when you're trying to play positive, your instincts work a lot better. You get into better positions and you want to hit the ball," said Bopara after his fighting century in the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's on Wednesday.
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"I hope to go into the next Test and in the Ashes at (number) three. It's a big thing for me and I'm looking forward to it," the Essex batsman said.
Sent to a training academy in Perth (Australia) by then Essex coach Graham Gooch in 2004-05, the 24-year old played a season of grade cricket where he impressed officials and team-mates with his passion and capacity for hard work.
After being dismissed for 80 in one game, Bopara is known to have punished himself by running laps on an adjoining field.
According to his coach Paul Terry, a former England Test player: "He had something, a nice sort of arrogance about him.
"He always wanted to get in the nets with the best bowlers. With the guys from England who have been out here in the last seven or eight years, he is probably the standout talent. He wanted to live and breathe the game."
Recalled to the team against the West Indies in the Caribbean, Bopara scored 104 in the drawn fourth Test in Bridgetown but was surprisingly dropped for the next Test in Trinidad.
Following Andrew Flintoff's premature departure from the IPL because of a knee injury, Bopara slammed a match-winning 84 from 59 balls against Kevin Pietersen's Royal Challengers Bangalore to come into contention for Flintoff's place at No 6.
With the ageing and unfit Michael Vaughan increasingly proving he is a spent force, the selectors, ostensibly under prodding from coach Andy Flower, pitch-forked the son of East London-based Indian immigrants to the crucial No 3 position ahead of the experienced Vaughan, Owais Shah and Ian Bell.
The cocky but personable Bopara had not opened for Essex in one-day cricket when called upon to do so for England in India last year.
With the Ashes at home looming, England are already perhaps pre-maturely looking at Bopara to lead the charge against Ricky Ponting's team come July.
Meanwhile, Bopara, who admits to being a hero-worshipper of Sachin Tendulkar, says: "I want to do everything Tendulkar did, but do it for England."u00a0
Those who know Ravi Bopara's spunk and determination know better than to take his resolve lightly.
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