He's no Usain Bolt, but he could still be pretty special.Ravi Bopara's International career has had more ups and downs than Katie & Peter's relationship. He burst onto the ODI scene in the 2007 World Cup down in the Caribbean, making a name for himself with a remarkably composed 53 against Sri Lanka in the Super 8's, a game England had to win, but didn't - by 3 runs. But it's not all been plain sailing.
His languid, yet effective style makes him a joy to watch. Cover driving, pulling, and clipping off his legs are all strengths of Bopara's, all evident in his 3 consecutive Test hundreds against the West Indies, home and away, earlier this year. However, a drop in form, and a loss of confidence has brought to my attention a very similar International career from a very similar Cricketer.
Surrey's Mark Ramprakash has been piling on the runs in County Cricket for years now. In particular the last 3, in which he has averaged over 100 in all 3 seasons. Despite this wonderful First-Class record, his Test match statistics are very disappointing. Throughout his International career, the question was raised time after time as to why he wasn't reproducing his County form in the World arena. It continues to stump pundits, fans, and himself to this day. An average of just 27 does little justice for his astounding ability.
As for Essex's number 3, he seems to be heading in a very similar direction. He's still a very young man, with a lot of years ahead of him, but one has to question his mental ability to cope with the step up to the International fold. That's clearly what it was for Ramps - a mental thing. He's proved that he has as much ability as your next England batsman, but when it came down to it, his fairly brittle mental state, at least when walking out with the Lions on his chest, cost him what should have been a much longer England career. Last season Bopara made big runs for Essex, including a double-hundred in a 50 over match. That's an incredible feat, and you have to be a special player to be able to do that. Since being dropped by England, he's made 201 in the County Championship against Surrey, suggesting that it wasn't his form with the bat that cost him his place for the final Test, but his fragile mind.
It'd be a shame if Bopara let that get the better of him, and sabotaged what could be a fantastic, blossoming England career. It's not something that can be easily rectified, but with more experience perhaps a stronger frame of mind will come with it. Yes he did score 3 consecutive hundreds earlier in the year, but that was against West Indies. With all due respect, they're not an Australia or a South Africa. Having not even made a fifty in this year's Ashes, his place for the South African tour is surely in jeopardy, especially as Jonathan Trott cracked a brilliant 119 today on debut. The only thing Bopara can do now, is make sure he's getting runs on a regular basis for Essex, and hope the selectors give him his third chance in Test Cricket.
Ramprakash certainly received his fair share of chances, but failed to ever capitalise on them. He never cemented his place in the side, and that's exactly what Bopara has to do. Scoring runs against the weaker sides is one thing, but delivering the goods in a high pressure, Ashes situation is a completely different slice of cake. We hope Bopara isn't the new Ramprakash, and we hope that with experience and matches he'll gain the mental strength to be able to deal with the high pressure expectations that come with being an International Sportsperson.
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