Bopara's role causing England problems

Like the pounding headache that follows a night of champagne, defeat in the final of the Carlton Mid tri-series provides a brutal reality-check for England. They may have made progress, but they remain some way behind the best.

Forget the disputed wicket of James Taylor - replays suggest he was somewhat unfortunate to be given out off what might well have been a no-ball - or any issues with the pitch - which played far better than on Friday. There are no excuses. Three defeats in three successive games in this tri-series against Australia provide unmistakable evidence of the gulf between the countries. England have now lost eight of the last nine ODIs between these sides and, in all ODIs, been bowled out in 11 of their last 17 going back to the start of the Sri Lanka series in May.

Equally, though, this defeat should not mask the encouraging progress that has been made in recent weeks. It should not obscure the fact that they have beaten the current world champions twice, that a settled XI has emerged and that most of those XI have enjoyed, at some stage in the series, an encouraging performance or two. Reaching the tri-series final would, a few weeks ago, have seemed fanciful.

Even this match contained encouragement. England's early bowling, James Anderson in particular, was impressive, and in reducing Australia to 4 for 60, they gave themselves a strong foothold in the game. Moeen Ali also bowled well again and Stuart Broad looked to be a step closer to full fitness following his return for injury. All this bodes well.

Some will note Mitchell Johnson's contribution and conclude that England remain mentally scarred by his Ashes performance. But that is to ignore the fact that none of the three batsmen he dismissed here - Moeen, Taylor and Eoin Morgan - were part of the England squad whitewashed here little more than a year ago. Such explanations are simplistic.

In truth, he is simply a fine bowler performing on the surface that suits him best. To be dismissed by deliveries as good as the ones that accounted for Moeen (and the ball from Josh Hazlewood to remove Ian Bell) is no disgrace. They would have dismissed many batsmen.

And it was no disgrace to concede a century partnership to Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh. They both played beautifully.

No, it was the death bowling and insipid middle-order batting that should concern England.

It is the fact that, Anderson apart, England's seamers seem unwilling or unable to deliver yorkers under pressure and that England conceded an eye-watering 46 from the final three overs of the Australian innings.

And it is the fact that their middle-order somehow lost four wickets to the far from terrifying offspin of Maxwell, while Ravi Bopara provided a far from convincing demonstration of his worth with a long, painful innings. Were Gary Ballance available for selection - and his broken finger is expected to be fine by the time the World Cup starts - Bopara's place would be looking precarious.

England's desire to pick Bopara is understandable. While he has rarely bowled of late, his medium-pace is seen as the insurance policy should one of the frontline attack suffer injury or a bad day, while his batting is deemed to have the versatility to push-on or rebuild as required. On paper, that all makes sense.

But all Bopara has achieved in this series is make Ben Stokes look a better player. Bopara has bowed just three overs - conceding 24 runs in the process - and he has averaged just 14.25 with the bat at a strike-rate of 57.57 runs per 100 balls. His innings in Hobart - where he laboured for 16 balls in making 7 just as England were looking for their late charge - was quite wretched and this was little better. With one wicket in his last 16 ODIs, it is hard to make a case for the relevance of his bowling.

Nor has he gained the reputation as a finisher he might have done. After 119 ODIs, he has just one century - against Ireland - and 14 half-centuries. He has rarely seen his side home - none of his last 15 ODI innings have been undefeated - and, despite his obvious talent and clear dedication to his craft, he is, aged 29, close to becoming the Ramprakash of his era: an immense talent who remains, whatever the reason, unfulfilled at international level.

That talent should not be doubted. When, in 2008, Bopara thrashed a double-century (201 in 138 balls) in a List A game at Grace Road, the Leicestershire chief executive of the time - the experienced player and administrator David Smith - remarked that he had not seen a better limited-overs innings since Viv Richards retired.

A few months later, Bopara became only the fifth England player to score centuries in three successive Test innings - all against West Indies - and it appeared his future was assured. But half-a-decade later, he continues to promise more than he delivers. You can feel the team willing him to succeed, but there is no disguising that this has been a disappointing tournament for him.

Chris Woakes also endured a bad day. After steady improvement in recent times, his reluctance to bowl yorkers was violently punished by James Faulkner - the 49th over of the innings cost 24 - as his slower-ball bouncers were greeted with joy. The 89 he conceded here was, by some distance, the most expensive spell of his ODI career and the fourth worst by an England bowler.

Woakes can bowl the yorker in the nets. And he does have the weapons - the pace, the swing and the variety - to prosper at this level. But, at present, he seems to lack the confidence to commit to his full repertoire under pressure. If England are to progress in the World Cup, their death bowlers will have to produce their yorkers more often. At present, Anderson seems to be the only member of the attack with the ability to produce one on demand.

So there is room for improvement, for sure. However, as England look back on the first month of their tour, they can feel quietly satisfied with the progress they have made.