Ravi Bopara | England

Full name Ravinder Singh Bopara

Born May 4, 1985, Forest Gate, London

Current age 24 years 34 days

Major teams England, England Lions, England Under-19s, Essex, Essex Cricket Board, Kings XI Punjab, Marylebone Cricket Club

Nickname Puppy

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium

Height 5 ft 10 in

Education Brampton Manor School

Ravinder Singh ("Ravi") Bopara (born 4 May 1985, Forest Gate, Newham, London) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex and England. He is the second Sikh to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar. He was first called up to the England ODI team in 2007, before a difficult Test debut in Sri Lanka saw him dropped in early 2008, however he regained his place for one match in the winter of 2008-09 where he scored a century batting at number three. He held on to the number three position for the May 2009 two test series against the West Indies in England, scoring a century in both tests.

Bopara has also enjoyed success in the Indian Premier League, where he plays for the Kings XI Punjab.

Profile

Aged 17, Bopara earned a professional contract with Essex in 2002, and he has never looked back. He made his first-team debut the same year, playing three Championship matches before playing for England at the Under-19 World Cup in 2003. A top-order batsman, he can also chip in with some handy medium-pace bowling and he has been maturing with every match.

Bopara, who is nicknamed Puppy, was a late selection for the England A squad in West Indies in 2006, after injuries in England's senior squad left spots to fill. Although unsuccessful in the Caribbean he found form on the county scene and was subsequently rewarded with a place in England's preliminary squad for the 2006 Champions Trophy and the Academy squad to be based in Perth during the winter's Ashes series. After impressing the selectors, he made his ODI debut against Australia at Sydney, and claimed the wicket of Mike Hussey to help England kick-start their trophy-winning campaign with a 92-run win. A fortnight later in the World Cup, showed impressive resolve and class in his maiden one-day fifty against Sri Lanka, albeit in a losing cause. He was one of only a handful of England players to emerge from that tournament with their reputation enhanced, but injury prevented him from building on his success in the World Twenty20. Another encouraging display for England in their one-day series against Sri Lanka in October 2007 led to his call-up to the Test squad for December's series, and he was picked to make his Test debut in the opening match at Kandy ahead of Owais Shah. It was, on reflection, a tour too soon for Bopara who scratched 42 runs in three Tests, and was axed the following January. But 14 months later, after flitting around the fringes of the ODI team, he seized his opportunity when Andrew Flintoff flew home from the Caribbean with a hip injury. Picked at No. 6 for the Barbados Test, he responded with a classy 104. Though omitted from the subsequent Test in Trinidad to accommodate an extra bowler, England didn't forget his abilities. Two months later at Lord's, he was recalled at No. 3 and responded with another hundred to firmly establish his credentials on the international stage.