Will Bopara bag the No. 6 slot?
With the retirement of Paul Collingwood, the No.6 spot in England's Test batting line-up is up for grabs
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
With the retirement of Paul Collingwood, the No.6 spot in England's Test batting line-up is up for grabs. While there are a few contenders, key among them are Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan. Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph writes that Bopara's decision to give the IPL a miss has put him ahead of Morgan in race for England No 6 slot.
Bopara and Morgan, 26 and 24 respectively, both play against Sri Lanka for the Lions at Derby over the next four days, but only Morgan played in this year’s IPL. Indeed, it will be his first game of the English season, now into its seventh week, time which Bopara, who turned down a belated offer from the Rajasthan Royals, has used productively to make two first-class hundreds and take important wickets for Essex.
Bopara’s bowling, which is improving by the month, makes him the favourite for Collingwood’s role, though it was Morgan who was in the Test side at the end of last season when Ian Bell was injured. Morgan was also picked in the Ashes squad but played only in the one-day series and World Cup that followed, where his performances suffered after breaking a finger.
Andy Bull in the Guardian echoes Pringle's views writing that Bopara has put himself at the top of the queue to fill the England No. 6 spot. While Morgan, who was first reserve for England in the winter has just come back from India, where he scored 137 runs in nine innings for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bopara has been racking up runs for Essex in the County Championship. He has 408 at an average of 45 so far.
"He has made getting back into the Test side as his No1 priority," says Graham Gooch, England's batting coach and Bopara's mentor at Essex. "That's a big statement in itself. If you go and play in the IPL, well, I'm not decrying anyone who does that, but you don't put yourself in the best position to prepare for Test cricket."
Stephen Brenkley in the Independent writes that it unthinkable that the England selectors can pick Morgan on the strength of one first-class match since last summer, a tour outing in Melbourne against Victoria last December, and 137 IPL runs.
As shoot-outs go it is hardly from High Noon. Morgan will not play in the match in Cardiff and, given its compressed nature, has virtually no chance of appearing at all in the series of three matches against Sri Lanka. It was originally presumed that if Morgan scored runs for the Lions he might stake an irresistible claim to the place that he first won last summer and which he lost before last winter's Ashes.
But the selectors met yesterday to discuss their Cardiff squad, heavily implying that what happens in Derby is for the distant, not the immediate, future.
Sam Sheringham on BBC Sport, gets the coaches, who have worked with the three likely contenders for No. 6 slot - Paul Grayson (Ravi Bopara), Richard Scott (Eoin Morgan), Mick Newell (James Hildreth) - to evaluate their chances of making the cut.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo