Why today is Ravi Bopara’s day of reckoning
The matches between England Lions and the touring sides have become an important part of the fixture list. They are, in all but name, test trials for fringe and up-and-coming players.
The game against Sri Lanka is notable as much for the individual performances of the batsmen vying for Paul Collingwood’s place as it is for the form of the tourists. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Eoin Morgan has won this week hands down.
The common consensus that Ravi Bopara would take the number six place is now seriously in doubt. Whilst choosing to score some runs in county cricket instead of playing in the IPL was the right decision for Bopara, his innings of 17 compared with Morgan’s 193 may well cost him anyway.
This means that today will probably be a defining one in Ravi Bopara’s career.
Having bowled out Sri Lanka for 266, the Lions could choose to enforce the follow-on, but I would be very surprised if they did. The bowling places are clearly decided, with Tremlett ahead of Finn for the time being, so England would benefit more from having another look at the batsmen.
If Bopara were to fail again, surely the place will go to Morgan. And if Morgan scores runs in the test matches, it could be a long time before another place in the top six is up for grabs – perhaps even until Andrew Strauss retires. By this time the likes of James Taylor and Ben Stokes of Durham, being the new kids on the block, will have a much stronger case. Taylor, of Leicestershire, is already making a decent case as it is, and if Stokes continues to bludgeon the best county bowling as he has been then it’s only a matter of time.
The selectors announce the squad for the 1st test tomorrow, and I think it’s D-Day for Ravi Bopara’s test ambitions. He must score some runs today.
Update: As it turned out, the follow-on was enforced, which shows what I know! However, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the argument about Bopara losing out for a long time to come isn’t valid. We shall see…
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