Bopara hopes to cement World Cup place in SL
England all-rounder Ravi Bopara may have been selected in the 16-man squad for the tour to Sri Lanka in November, but he’s not booking his ticket to Australia quite yet, though he is confident of doing well.
England can only take 15 players to the World Cup, so Bopara could still miss out, as he often does, but he hopes to impress against Sri Lanka and cement a place for his third World Cup. He was not part of the side that lost three-one to India.
Bopara said: “The first aim will be trying to get in the eleven now and get playing and make some contributions to win games for England. The important thing is to play well in Sri Lanka because that’s the first challenge ahead of us. We can’t look too far ahead to the World Cup.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the last chance. I never look at things as a last chance. You can always get back in, no matter how old you are and how you’ve played because if you keep getting runs on the board for your county you can’t be ignored – it’s impossible.
“So I’ll always fight for my place in the England side and try and win games for them. I’m going to be confident until the day I retire about doing the job because it’s just how I am.
“I can never settle for giving up on England. I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I’m honest. I’ll keep working hard on my game and keep knocking on that door no matter what happens.”
He added that he didn’t enjoy the increase in support while he was out of the side, given that England were losing badly: “It’s never nice seeing England lose.
“A lot of my mates I’ve played with for a long time play in that side and I know how it feels because I’ve been on the end of it before. But we’ve got to put that behind us and work on the things we’ve spoken about – like playing spin.
“I know it doesn’t usually play a major part in Australia but it may do this time. With so many games going on there might some worn pitches so it may play a big part.”
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