What a pleasure it was to see Ravi Bopara hit his maiden Test century on the first day of the English summer. With it, he has answered a question which has been around all winter, and which threatened to continue into the summer: who will be England’s number three for the Ashes?
Given his chance somewhat unexpectedly, Bopara took full advantage. He showed all the qualities required of a number three batsman. He came to the crease in the seventh over, to face two quick bowlers and a shiny new ball. He patiently built a partnership with the remaining opener, before seeing two wickets in two balls, followed quickly by another. Through the carnage, he kept a cool head, stuck to his game, and – most importantly – stayed at the crease. He also had a bit of luck, of course: but he made the most of being dropped. When Michael Vaughan scored all those runs in Australia in 2002/03, he was dropped on several occasions. He made the most of those opportunities, just as Bopara did today.
The obvious comparison to make is with Vaughan, who famously stood at the crease on debut in Johannesburg while around him hugely experienced team-mates crumbled on their way to 2-4. He stayed calm there, and, while the crisis was not of that magnitude, Bopara exuded the same sort of calm and focus.
He has also achieved in his first outing at three what Ian Bell, his predecessor, never did: he made a century before someone else did first. The talent was always there for Bell – as it clearly is for Bopara – but he lacked the mentality to be an effective Test number three. If and when Bell returns to the team, it has to be in the middle order.
A great Test number three needs to be calm, but he also needs to be confident. Bopara has confidence in spades. His cheeky writing-on-the-honours-board celebration showed that, as well as his innings.
His self-assurance was also evidenced by his decision, this time last year, to shun the IPL and all its money. He felt he would benefit more in the long term from a summer of county cricket. Today we saw that he was clearly right. What this sense of balance has allowed him to achieve is to step off the plane from the IPL – where he was England’s one true success story, putting in good performances opening for Kings XI Punjab – and make a Test hundred at the first time of asking. This is more than Pietersen or Collingwood could achieve.
In many ways, Bopara looks like England’s first truly modern cricketer. He said this week that he wants to be good at both Test and T20 cricket. He has clearly been focussed on this for some time, and his efforts are now bearing fruit. He has proven in the last month that he is good at both T20 and Test cricket.
The really exciting thing about his performance was that it showed he has the mental attributes to take him further, which many players with his talent lack. It is his calm, intelligent confidence, his clearly demonstrated knowledge of his own game, which, combined with his talent and work ethic, could lead to him becoming better than good.