He has been going in and out of the England Cricket Team for the last couple of years but whenever he gets a chance, Ravi Bopara shows that although he is not indispensible in the side, he is sure dependable when the team faces a crisis as he showed during the stellar 131 run partnership with captain Alastair Cook for the third wicket in the first of the four One Day International matches that England are scheduled to play against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

This win in the first One Day International came much as a surprise for many of the touring media and analysts and cricket experts who have come to the Desert nation with the side, especially after being thrashed 3-0 in the Test series in spite of being the number one ranked Test side according to the rankings of the ICC. And much of the credit for this win goes to captain Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara, who steadied the ship in the middle after the loss of two wickets in quick succession.

Steve Finn, another fellow player from Essex who was deprived of Test action took four wickets in the match to lead England to a 130 run win against Pakistan who had all their big guns back in the side. Bopara, on the other hand would have had to sit out for this match as well if not for the injury sustained by Joe Butler and like all good players wanting a long and successful career, he seized the opportunity with both hands.

Now, England can look forward to returning home with some pride still intact by winning the remaining three matches of the series and with Ravi Bopara in this kind of mood, it gives them every opportunity to do that easily.

Ravi Bopara has been given yet another chance to establish himself in the England set up when he was called into the side that will face Pakistan in a few days’ time. Bopara has been in and out of the side for quite some time, failing to nail a regular place down and with the emergence of Eoin Morgan, he has seen the chances come few and far between. However, a place in the 16 man squad that will face Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates does not necessarily guarantee him a place in the starting lineup.

One of the members of the selection committee, Geoff Miller revealed that although the selectors do want to give every player a chance to play for The Three Lions, it does ultimately come down to consistency where only those who perform well on a regular basis will be able to get regular playing time with the number one Test team in the world. The last time that Ravi Bopara was called into the side was when he had to deputize for Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan last summer.

Miller also said that the England Lions will be heading off on a tour of Bangladesh at that time as well and the players who perform well during that series will also get a chance to play for the England team and the likes of Bopara must be cautious of these players as well and needs to be extremely consistent with his form.

This might very well be the last opportunity that comes the way of the 26 year old Bopara who has not been able to live up to the faith shown in him by the selectors in the past. However, it must be said that Ravi Bopara does have the talent to perform and nail down a place in the side.