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Bopara was an unlikely figure with the new ball, picking up 2 for 32
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Matthew Hoggard has seen it all before in the course of his 64-Test
career, while Ravi Bopara is still in his international infancy, but
both men look set to feature in the first Test at Kandy next week
after carrying England's fortunes on a fluctuating second day against
the Sri Lanka Board President's XI in Colombo.
Hoggard was the statistical star of the day, grabbing 5 for 25 in a
probing nine-over spell as he made light of the injuries that have put
his fellow fast bowlers, Steve Harmison and James Anderson, out of
action in this innings. But it was the 22-year-old Bopara who captured
the imagination, first by top-scoring amid a batting collapse with a
calm and stylish 47, and then by picking up 2 for 32 as an emergency
new-ball bowler.
"Ravi showed a lot of application with his batting and then to come
out with the new ball and bowl like he did was lovely to see," said
Hoggard afterwards. "He brings a lot of energy to the team, he fields
really well, and he's one of those team members you always want around
the squad."
Bopara began this match as the understudy looking in. Owais Shah's
name had been pencilled for the first Test, but now there seems little
doubt which player is in the ascendancy. Shah managed a tortuous 26
before missing with a loose drive; Bopara's stay, on the other hand,
was only cut short when the tail started folding around him.
"The bowlers had a great day and the batters had a shocker," Bopara
said afterwards, having begun his day's work with England in crisis at
44 for 4. "I knew I needed to score runs, not just survive. That's the
mental approach I take to batting. I like to take it to the bowlers."
On the first day, England did well to prise nine Sri Lankan batsmen
from the crease; today, by contrast, 17 wickets tumbled. "The pitch
had a little bit more bounce in it yesterday," said Bopara. "When it
did things it did it more slowly so you had time to adjust and time to
watch the ball. Today it was a bit lower, and it seemed quicker as
well."
Hoggard agreed that, in spite of the scorelines, the conditions had
not been outrageously favourable to the bowlers. "It wasn't hooping
round corners," he said, "it was just taking a little bit of shape and
sometimes shape is better than swing. It gripped a bit more and
luckily we put the ball in the right areas often enough."
If Hoggard's performance was only to be expected, Bopara's was a
revelation. He trapped Malinda Warnapura lbw with his 10th delivery,
completed the run-out of Sujeewa de Silva with a clean pick-up at the
non-striker's end, and then capped his performance by ending the
resistance of Sri Lanka's only mainstay, the opener Mahela Udawatte,
who was eighth out for 45.
But Bopara himself was not unduly surprised by his success. "I've
taken the new ball a couple of times for Essex due to injuries, and
I've had a few wickets every time I've done it," he said. "You've
always got a chance of a wicket with the new ball, so it's quite
exciting. It's going to be a massive part of my career, and I want to
get the most out of my bowling ability."
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo