da casino： Matthew Hoggard has seen it all before in the course of his 64-Testcareer, while Ravi Bopara is still in his international infancy, butboth men look set to feature in the first Test at Kandy next weekafter carrying England’s fortunes on a fluctuating s
da dobrowin： Andrew Miller in Colombo26-Nov-2007
Bopara was an unlikely figure with the new ball, picking up 2 for 32 © Getty Images
Matthew Hoggard has seen it all before in the course of his 64-Testcareer, while Ravi Bopara is still in his international infancy, butboth men look set to feature in the first Test at Kandy next weekafter carrying England’s fortunes on a fluctuating second day againstthe Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in Colombo.Hoggard was the statistical star of the day, grabbing 5 for 25 in aprobing nine-over spell as he made light of the injuries that have puthis fellow fast bowlers, Steve Harmison and James Anderson, out ofaction in this innings. But it was the 22-year-old Bopara who capturedthe imagination, first by top-scoring amid a batting collapse with acalm and stylish 47, and then by picking up 2 for 32 as an emergencynew-ball bowler.”Ravi showed a lot of application with his batting and then to comeout with the new ball and bowl like he did was lovely to see,” saidHoggard afterwards. “He brings a lot of energy to the team, he fieldsreally well, and he’s one of those team members you always want aroundthe squad.”Bopara began this match as the understudy looking in. Owais Shah’sname had been pencilled for the first Test, but now there seems littledoubt which player is in the ascendancy. Shah managed a tortuous 26before missing with a loose drive; Bopara’s stay, on the other hand,was only cut short when the tail started folding around him.”The bowlers had a great day and the batters had a shocker,” Boparasaid afterwards, having begun his day’s work with England in crisis at44 for 4. “I knew I needed to score runs, not just survive. That’s themental approach I take to batting. I like to take it to the bowlers.”On the first day, England did well to prise nine Sri Lankan batsmenfrom the crease; today, by contrast, 17 wickets tumbled. “The pitchhad a little bit more bounce in it yesterday,” said Bopara. “When itdid things it did it more slowly so you had time to adjust and time towatch the ball. Today it was a bit lower, and it seemed quicker aswell.”Hoggard agreed that, in spite of the scorelines, the conditions hadnot been outrageously favourable to the bowlers. “It wasn’t hoopinground corners,” he said, “it was just taking a little bit of shape andsometimes shape is better than swing. It gripped a bit more andluckily we put the ball in the right areas often enough.”If Hoggard’s performance was only to be expected, Bopara’s was arevelation. He trapped Malinda Warnapura lbw with his 10th delivery,completed the run-out of Sujeewa de Silva with a clean pick-up at thenon-striker’s end, and then capped his performance by ending theresistance of Sri Lanka’s only mainstay, the opener Mahela Udawatte,who was eighth out for 45.But Bopara himself was not unduly surprised by his success. “I’vetaken the new ball a couple of times for Essex due to injuries, andI’ve had a few wickets every time I’ve done it,” he said. “You’vealways got a chance of a wicket with the new ball, so it’s quiteexciting. It’s going to be a massive part of my career, and I want toget the most out of my bowling ability.”
