Ravinder Bopara
Encyclopedia
Ravinder Singh 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
.
, 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.
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 .
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.
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.
, 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, Australian
s 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".
, 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.
. 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
.
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.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricketer who plays for Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
and England. He is the second Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
. Originally a top-order batsman, but with his developing medium pace bowling, he is becoming a vital all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
. 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
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. 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
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
, where he played for the Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab is a cricket franchise based in Mohali, Punjab in the Indian Premier League. For the IPL3, an additional venue has been chosen at Dharamsala.-Franchise History:...
.
Early days
Educated at Brampton Manor SchoolBrampton Manor School
Brampton Manor Academy is a multi-cultural comprehensive secondary school situated in East Ham, east London and has around 1600 students and over 100 staff. Brampton Manor is the second biggest school in Newham. It was awarded specialist status as an Arts College.The school's current headteacher is...
, Bopara made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
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.
In the 2005 season
2005 English cricket season
Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...
, 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
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, putting on 270 for the second wicket with Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
, and in 2006 he was selected for England A
England A cricket team
The England Lions cricket team is a cricket team representing England and Wales. It is the "second-tier" of international English cricket below the full England cricket team, and is largely intended as a way for promising young cricketers to gain experience of playing international cricket...
in their March tour of the West Indies, as well as their matches against the touring Sri Lankans
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
and Pakistanis
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
in the summer of that year. In July, he was selected in England's 30-man provisional squad for the 2006 Champions Trophy
2006 ICC Champions Trophy
The 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. It was the fifth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy...
. He was select for the third edition of World T20 in Caribbean .
England player
In January 2007 Kevin PietersenKevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
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
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, 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
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
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
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
against Canada. On 30 August he again featured in a prominent tail end partnership, this time with Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad
Stuart Christopher John Broad is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for England and is currently the captain of their Twenty20 team...
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
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
striking 229 runs off 391 balls, including 27 fours
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
, 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 TestTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut in the tour to Sri Lanka in December 2007 but had a poor series, scoring only 42 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
in five innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
including three ducks
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, and taking only one wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 81. One BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
.
On 4 June 2008, Bopara recorded his highest List A score in the quarter finals of the Friends Provident Trophy. He scored an unbeaten
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
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 KhanAmjad Khan (cricketer)
Amjad Khan is an English Test cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He plays for Sussex.-Career:...
, was invited to join the England Test squad on their tour of the West Indies
English cricket team in West Indies in 2008–09
The English cricket team toured the West Indies from 25 January 2009 until 3 April 2009. Initially, it was intended that they play four Test matches, one Twenty20 International and five One Day Internationals against the West Indies cricket team...
as cover for Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
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
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
at Essex. Meanwhile, Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
s Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Johnson (cricketer)
Mitchell Guy Johnson is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman. He was awarded the International Cricket Council's 2009 "Cricketer of the Year" award, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.-Career:...
and Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
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
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
, whereas others, most notably Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, described his emerging talents as "special".
2009 Ashes
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 WarneShane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, 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
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
.
Bopara struggled during the series, however, with scores of 35, one, 18, 27, 23, one and a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. He was dismissed by Ben Hilfenhaus
Ben Hilfenhaus
Benjamin William Hilfenhaus is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket. Hilfenhaus plays club cricket for Tasmania University Cricket Club. Prior to turning fully professional, he worked as a bricklayer as well as playing cricket...
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
Jonathan Trott
Ian Jonathan Leonard Trott is a South African-born England Test cricketer. Domestically, he plays for Warwickshire and he has also played in South Africa and New Zealand...
, 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
Michael Carberry
Michael Alexander Carberry is an English cricketer. Carberry is a left-handed opening batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born in Croydon, Surrey....
and Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan
Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan is an Irish cricketer who plays for the England national cricket team. A left-handed batsman, he plays county cricket for Middlesex and has been selected for England's Test, ODI and Twenty20 squads. He originally represented his native Ireland at international level...
make their Tests debuts in the away
English cricket team in Bangladesh in 2009–10
The England cricket team toured Bangladesh, playing three One Day Internationals and two Test matches, at the end of the 2009–10 cricket season. They were captained by Alastair Cook, due to regular captain Andrew Strauss controversially missing the series to rest for the 2010–11 Ashes series...
and home
Bangladeshi cricket team in England in 2010
-2nd Test:-1st ODI:-2nd ODI:-3rd ODI:-First Class: Surrey vs Bangladeshis:-First Class: Bangladeshis vs Essex:-First Class: Bangladeshis vs England Lions:-List A: Sussex vs Bangladeshis:-List A: Middlesex vs Bangladeshis:...
series against Bangladesh respectively, with Bopara making neither squad. However, some impressive form for Essex in domestic 40-over
Clydesdale Bank 40
The ECB40, currently known as the Clydesdale Bank 40 for sponsorship reasons, is a forty-over limited overs cricket competition for the English first-class counties. It began in the 2010 English cricket season as a replacement for the Pro40 and Friends Provident Trophy competitions...
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
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
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 Cup2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a 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
Eoin Morgan
Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan is an Irish cricketer who plays for the England national cricket team. A left-handed batsman, he plays county cricket for Middlesex and has been selected for England's Test, ODI and Twenty20 squads. He originally represented his native Ireland at international level...
. 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
Michael Yardy
Michael Howard Yardy is an English cricketer. He captains Sussex County Cricket Club and is a left-handed batsman whose unusual technique has attracted a great deal of attention due to a pronounced shuffle from leg to off immediately prior to the bowler releasing the ball...
. Bopara returned to play against South Africa in place of the dropped Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
. 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
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
.
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
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
.
On 23 September 2011, Bopara claimed the best bowling figures by an Englishman in a T20 international with 4-10.
Test centuries
| Ravi Bopara's Test Centuries | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |Match | |City/Country | |Year | ||||
| [1] | 104 | 4 | West Indies | Bridgetown Bridgetown The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael... , Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint... |
Kensington Oval Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket... |
2009 |
| [2] | 143 | 5 | West Indies | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England |
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the... |
2009 |
| [3] | 108 | 6 | West Indies | Chester-le-street Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear... , England |
Riverside Ground Riverside Ground The Riverside Ground, officially called the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground, is a cricket venue in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. It is home to Durham County Cricket Club.... |
2009 |
External links
- Player Profile: Ravi Bopara from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...