Bopara belts a double-ton

I should charge Essex for my motivational coaching. Less than a week after Ravi Bopara was branded a pillock on this blog for bragging about how much the IPL love him (as his batting form started to fall away), he has stuck two fingers up and got on with doing what he does best: scoring lots of runs. Bopara bashed 201 not out off 138 balls today as Essex posted a commanding total in the Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final against Leicestershire.

It was only the eighth time a batsman has made a double hundred in a one-day match and Bopara clearly owes the Essex openers a pint or two for letting him get to the wicket early enough. If there were any justice, the England selectors would call him up instantly for tomorrow's Test match. After all, Trent Bridge is only just down the road from Leicester.

Bopara has instantly put himself in contention for June's Hero of the Month poll. In fact, Bopara would be the first person in Line and Length history to go from a Hero nomination to a Pillock and back again in successive weeks. I blame myself for making him so big-headed after the first hero nomination that he acted like a pillock.

Comments

[Pablo]

Shame on you, Patrick. A bit more self-deprecation is needed for you to clear the stain (although I agree the announcement about the IPL was a bit strange). What about switching your picture for Ravi's one at the head of the column?
Besides, considering Brian's comment on Bopara's patience and maturity against Worcester, it is interesting that he got his two centuries not out off 138 balls. Those aren't the numbers of a patient player, but an aggressive one. I know it is nothing new that Bopara can show both patience and aggression, but I think it is interesting to point it out in the current context of Test Series. Such flexibility is something remarkably effective and important in the long, constant effort of a Test match, because it gives the team a chance to change the match. I have felt for a while that England is lacking the sort of player that can switch from patience to aggression, and with that change the spirit, the mood of a match. Maybe the best example was, quite predictably, Ian Botham at Headingley in 1981 when he changed the whole course of the game out of his own will (and strokes, of course). I'm not asking to have a Headingley in every Test, but it would be great to know that there is a guy in England that can do something like that. I don't know if Bopara has the willpower to be that man, but at least he has the skills. I guess KP should be that man, but he hasn't consistently shown that he is a game changer. Who else could be that player nowadays?

[Rob]

Well done Ravi (especially since you're in my fantasy team!). The real question for me is assuming he'll get a test recall soon (his talent as a batsman surely warrants it) is whether he's a good enough bowler to be 5th in the attack, i.e. bat at 6 and be the batting allrounder. With him at 6, Fred 7, Keeper 8, Broad 9, SiBo 10 & Monty 11, looks like a promising line up.

My honest opinion is that he's not the finished article in terms of bowler (yet), and so we are not quite there. Bell / Colly vs Bopara. Bopara every time, since he's more naturally talented and looks to be mentally strong.

[Brian Carpenter]

I was at Worcester for the LV game and Bopara batted with great patience and maturity in bowler-friendly conditions for his 85 in the second innings. This shows he has plenty of versatility and his temperament's looked rock solid during his ODIs - worth keeping an eye on, I reckon.

[SanjayN]

Amazing feat considering he came in at 34-2 and Essex were soon 37-3. Hats off to him. I was aware of Pollock, Kalli and Ali Brown scoring double tons but didn't realize there were as many as eight players to achieve this feat.

Still, a very rare and astonishing achievement - even in the modern game of smaller boundaries and high-tech bats.