Savvy Bopara concentrates on team culture

The atmosphere may hang heavily over England's one-day team like the rain clouds above Colombo but, according to Ravi Bopara, his captain and Essex team-mate Alastair Cook has never felt more relaxed or in charge than he does currently.

Cook famously doesn't sweat, so the heat he admitted to feeling after another defeat and another inadequate score against Sri Lanka must have been of the dry variety. Bopara, an easy straight-talker these days, has known Cook since they were teenagers competing in representative teams and was always likely to be in his corner, towel at the ready regardless. He reckons the cares of captaincy sit lightly, even as the noises off grow louder: Kevin Pietersen the latest former England player to call for Cook to go.

The Pietersen stramash, which was indivisibly connected to England's horror show in Australia, has strained relations in English cricket, but Cook has poured his energy into getting the team going forward again. Whatever the view of his suitability for ODI cricket - and a run of one half-century in 18 innings is making that case harder and harder to state - there can be no doubting his commitment and belief that he will eventually succeed.

"I think what's happened to him over the past year has definitely made him stronger," Bopara said. "He can only get stronger. He smiles a lot more now than he ever did. I think he's in a good place. He's handling it well. I think he knows what's coming and what to expect a little bit more. He deals with it better. He'll be fine. He's quite a strong character so he'll come out the other side."

Bopara has made consecutive half-centuries in losing causes since returning to the side, form which may provide some comfort for his old friend. That notwithstanding, he pointed out that it is "not just Alastair Cook who hasn't scored over the past few games" and echoed the view that those outside the dressing room are welcome to their opinions. It seems England's Essex firm has spoken, in its own rather polite and smiling way.

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion. People on social media, people outside social media," he said. "To be fair, in the English culture, we're quite quick to jump on something that hasn't gone right, as opposed to jumping on something that has gone right. If we can create an environment for not just Alastair but the rest of the guys to excel and feel confident going into something like the World Cup, then that gives everyone a better chance, it gives England a better chance. If we can create a positive environment, it makes a massive difference."

There has not been a great deal that has gone right for England followers to seize on recently, especially in ODI cricket. Moeen Ali's 72-ball hundred in the first game against Sri Lanka, a champagne supernova still not quite fizzy enough to secure victory, and Bopara's cool temperament aside, the forecast remains grim. England have lost seven of their last eight matches and should they go 3-0 down in the series at Hambantota on Wednesday, there will some praying for the merciful release of a monsoon sweeping in.

Although he was England's ODI Player of the Year in 2013, Bopara was dropped for the India series at the end of the summer. That was a surprise, despite some patchy performances, as he provides a reliable option with both bat and ball and his increased maturity and responsibility shone through while making scores of 65 and 51 in Colombo. His desire to succeed has an unyielding, Cook-ish quality.

"I come back saying I'm more determined, working harder, which is the truth. I think come back wiser every time, I come back a little bit more independent as a player," he said. "I think that is the key to playing cricket at this level, you've got to be very independent and not be so coach-driven and seek comforts from somewhere else - you've got to find it within yourself and do it your way.

"I'm not trying to make anybody happy, apart from winning games and doing the fans proud, myself proud, my team-mates proud. But I'm going do it my way. I choose the way I go out and play and how I approach my innings, because I know that's best for me, I've played enough cricket to know what to do on the day."

Bopara was once the team's dozy nephew, the Will Smith to England's Banks family mansion in Bel Air. He still carries a certain Fresh Prince swagger but there is a keener edge to his thinking, as demonstrated by the way he summed up the conditions on Saturday when playing on a used strip. England's mantra since coming to Sri Lanka has been one of relentless positivity with the bat, a laudable aim in keeping with the one-day game's direction of travel, but "there's days and pitches that you can't do that".

Older, wiser, it seems England have got themselves a more savvy Ravi. "We just need to get that win," he said. Cook will doubtless agree.