I don't actually hate Bopara thread

[Cabinet96]

Him not doing anything hasn't stopped them in the past.

 

[theegyptian]

Going through a real stage of Ravi hate at the moment. Need to come out the other side.

 

[grecian]

Going through a real stage of Ravi hate at the moment. Need to come out the other side.

We all go there on occasions, it shall pass when you remember his clueless adorableness.

 

[Cabinet96]

Ever since the first game they've been trying to use him as a proper batsman again. Really hoped we'd moved beyond that by now. Just let him come in at the end and slog it.

 

[Prince EWS]

Ever since the first game they've been trying to use him as a proper batsman again. Really hoped we'd moved beyond that by now. Just let him come in at the end and slog it.

Yep. He's in the side at the moment to build an innings and barely bowl. If he's going to play (and I think he should) then he should be used as a big-hitting finisher and regular bowler.

 

[vic_orthdox]

At least cricinfo/Dobell is still on board...

Ravi Bopara's inclusion might have made a difference. Not only did England miss another option - albeit another right-arm seamer - but they missed Bopara's ability to work on the ball.

Bopara has a reputation as a man who can "make the ball talk". With him in the side, England and Essex have managed to gain extravagant movement. Just as telling, they have often struggled to replicate that movement when Bopara is absent.

That is not to suggest that Bopara is doing anything untoward with the ball. With the number of cameras trained on international cricketers these days, it is hard to imagine any player could get away with ball tampering. But it does seem uncanny how much more the ball appears to move when he is in the side.

George Dobell: James Anderson struggle typifies England's flat attack | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[Cabinet96]

Wow, talk about clutching at the thinnest of straws. Pretty sure Cook is the official ball worker in tests and he didn't use that as a reason to keep him on board.

 

[cnerd123]

Surely Bopara could just teach the rest of the team how to maintain the ball no?

Picking a specialist ball-shiner seems stupid, even for England.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

If only he could shine a spud as well as he can shine a ball. I guess that just goes to show that you can't polish a spud.

 

[Daemon]

specialist ball shiner fmd

 

[Dan]

I really, really wonder how Cricinfo's pro-Bopara editorial stance came about. I mean, most of the time you can pick the vested interest.

Western Australian potato farmers, perhaps, trying to lobby that there's no such thing as an overproduction of spuds?

 

[cnerd123]

I think it's just George Dobell really.

 

[grecian]

Is there no end to his talent

 

[Mike5181]

That's a new one.

 

[Spikey]

cricket takes ravi many places
hot places
cold places
but he's prepared for it all
cause in his life
people expect the best performances
even under extreme conditions
and
so does he

it's more than ball polishing
it's liquid engineering

 

[gettingbetter]

Would be funny to see him get a game. That would mean he has played in three World Cups - who would've thought that.

 

[Pothas]

He really must play now.

 

[Prince EWS]

He really must play now.

In for Finn batting eleven obviously.

 

[sledger]

Those who hate Ravi, love abilities.

 

[Jono]

Dobell is such a whiny English cricket journo. Everything is to blame except the fact that the actual players available just aren't good enough.