Wait! Let's Give Ravi a Chance

"People try to put us down," rock band The Who used to wail in their 60's anthem, My Generation. Ravi Bopara must know what they meant, having surrendered his second innings wicket cheaply on day five at the Kia Oval, leading to more questions as to why he had been given another chance in England's middle order for this summers box office test series against South Africa.

Day five at the Kia Oval this time around was a dismal place for England, despite previous high points, and what England required in order to save a game they had been thoroughly outplayed in was caution and restraint from their premier batsmen, particularly following the loss of their top four batsmen late on day four.

That Bopara chopped a wide delivery from the imperious Dale Steyn onto his own stumps was cavalier in the extreme given the context of the game, and is a mistake that Bopara will have to live with as he returned to Essex for T20 action this week. He scored only one for them by the way - bad week.

But Bopara wasn't the only England player bamboozled or simply battered by the Proteas in the first of this three match series. Plenty struggled, with not enough batsmen protecting their wicket against a formidable South African bowling attack, whilst the bowlers toiled but looked completely bereft of the cutting edge required to penetrate this solid South African batting line up. The fact that AB De Villiers wasn't even required to bat says it all. Smith, Amla and Kallis were all in scintillating form and whilst this was a messy defeat for England, most cricket fans could only stand and applaud the achievements of all three men.

From day one South Africa bossed England in every department, scoring a mammoth 637 runs for the loss of just two wickets either side of knocking England over for what turned out to be below par scores in both innings on a slow, dry Kia Oval wicket.

Still, when play resumed on the fifth morning there was a glimmer, however small or diminishing, that England might somehow rescue a match that for all intents and purposes seemed dead a long time earlier, from England's perspective at least. and Graeme Smith deserves recognition here. His declaration was perfectly timed, offering chances for all results whilst maintaining his sides overwhelming advantage.

When Bell and Bopara took their guard on Monday, 11:00am, England had 6 wickets in hand. Caution was required to have any hope of survival and so when Bopara waved a bat at a wide one, the Oval gasped as the ball deflected viciously onto the middle timber, pressing it back and calling time of Bopara's brief 30 minute resistance.

Many will say it was a ridiculous shot, that Bopara should have left it, that it demonstrates he doesn't have the temperament for test cricket, that his chances in this side must surely have all expired now.

True it was an unnecessary shot, but we have to look at what came before. Steyn was in the middle of another lethal spell of fast bowling. The over before, Bopara had left one that had swung in late and missed his off stump by millimetres. When the ball is coming down the track as fast as Steyn propels it, shot selection needs to be made in split seconds. Get the decision wrong and the outcome can be messy, as Ravi found out to England's cost.

But Bopara has made plenty of good decisions during the rest of this summer, so can't we forgive him for a couple of blunders here? I mean, he wasn't alone in the poor shot selection category, where other nominees were Kevin Pietersen, who was clean bowled when the ball seemed destined to be blocked by his notorious walking forward-defensive stroke, whilst Strauss and Prior both embarked on that age-old English tradition (no, not streaking) of sweeping at inopportune and ill-advised periods of the game, both giving their wickets away to the leg-breaking Imran Tahir

Whether Bopara is the perennial twelfth man figure of this current generation of English supremacy, or part of a new group of players that includes Jonny Bairstow and Steven Finn who will undoubtedly be England's future, is currently still undecided. What is for sure is that Bopara is not the only one who needs to shape up for the second test.

England are at a curious stage in their development at present. Some might say that the current side reached the peak of their powers some time ago, beating Australia 3-1 away before humiliating India in a 4-0 whitewash at home in 2011, taking over at the top of the ICC's rankings as the best test side in the world from their beaten visitors.

Since then, England have toiled on the sub-continent before completing formalities against the West Indies here earlier this summer. South Africa provided the next big test for the best test side around and, if this first test is anything to go by, England might not be number one for much longer.

To be honest, I don't share this view. England still have a lot of very, very good players and are a well organised, functioning team led by Andy Flower, who has been superb, and captained by the equally impressive Andrew Strauss.

But certain players are under threat now, and that is no bad thing. Tim Bresnan is the obvious one, his pace or lack thereof is a concern whilst his ability to bat may be the main reason for his continued selection. Steven Finn is ready and waiting and will surely get his chance before long.

Whilst Bopara deserves his chance in the current set up in my view, if England were to change to five bowlers instead of their customary four it would enable Bresnan to remain in the side batting at seven, with Prior moving up to six and Finn replacing Bopara as a more penetrating bowler with some genuine pace, something England currently lack. It would be hard on Bopara but England have to win the next game, and given the fact only two wickets were taken at the Oval, England might go for broke.

I personally think Finn for Bresnan is more likely but given the next test is at Headingly, the selectors may actually stick with the side that lost at the Oval, giving the players the chance to redeem themselves.

And it's important to remember that this is virtually the same side that has given England so much success over the past 18 months. Surely they deserve the chance to appease the errors of last week - everyone has off days?

It's sets us up for a fascinating second test in Leeds and I for one can't wait for it to start! Hopefully the sun sticks around for a bit now too!

England vs South Africa - The Batsmen To Watch

The series between England and South Africa that starts at the Kia Oval on Thursday, is the most eagerly awaited, non-Ashes series I can remember for quite a spell. And well it might be, for it pits the world’s best test team, England lest we forget, against the team ranked third. Further, it brings forth a battle between what are widely considered the best two bowling attacks in world cricket. The juices are flowing alright! 
 
England take on South Africa in this three match series having made light work of their summer warm-up act, the West Indies, beating them 2-0 in a three match series. The final match at Edgbaston was all but rained off, otherwise it would almost certainly have been a clean sweep.
 
Having also beaten Australia 4-0 in an ODI series this summer, England will be in buoyant mood right now, although South Africa will provide a much stiffer challenge than either of those two managed. 

With a bowling attack led by the imperious Dale Steyn, the world's best bowler, who is backed up superbly by the improved Morne Morkell, Vernon Philander, who performed so well for Somerset earlier this season and not forgetting the leg breaks of Hampshire old boy, Imran Tahir, South Africa have an attack that will give England's batting order a rigorous examination.

Meanwhile England's well oiled bowling machine, which barring injury will almost certainly be, as usual, Anderson, Broad, Bresnan and Swann, will also be up for the challenge that South Africa's batsmen will bring. 

But what of the batsmen? Who are the men to watch with willow in hand? Who have the most to prove going into this mouth-watering series, the winners of which will claim the number one spot in the rankings? 

Graeme Smith, the great warrior, will fight to the end, and as usual in series between these two sides will be the main man that England's bowlers look to target. Smith has endured a tough twelve months since South Africa's poor displays in the 2011 World Cup led to the Proteas captain to consider his position in the side. Smith is back to his best now, scoring well against New Zealand in the spring, but in Anderson and Swann, Smith will be up against two of the best bowlers to left handers in the game today.

Jacques Kallis, a rare specimen of all-round excellence with a test batting average of 56 including a phenomenal 42 centuries, will surely be a massive scalp if and when his wicket falls during the series. Bizarrely though, Kallis has a poor record in the UK averaging just 28 in test matches here. England might just fancy their chances against him then, in what may be his last tour on these shores perhaps?

AB de Villiers will be another South African batsman to watch, and I am particularly excited to see him in full flow. Capable of free-flowing, swash-buckling scoring in the mould of England's Kevin Pietersen, it will be interesting to see how AB copes with the additional responsibility that keeping wicket will bring, following the unfortunate eye injury to Mark Boucher ruled the veteran wicketkeeper out of the rest of the series and bought about his premature retirement. De Villiers is one of the Protea's best players, and the team will hope that the additional pressure of keeping wicket doesn't affect his batting. 

Whilst De Villiers takes over the gloves from Boucher, for the first match  of the series at least,  JP Duminy will take Boucher's place in the batting line up. Duminy's test average of 34 is decent if unspectacular, but the 28 year old batsman from Cape Town is beginning to show his pedigree in this format. A century in his last test in March against the Black Caps was his second ton in 13 matches for his country and against England, he will be hoping to enhance his reputation further.

England have batting sub- plots of their own of course, and as usual most of them centre around their charismatic batsman, Kevin Pietersen.

Following his retirement from limited overs international cricket last month, KP has since intimated that perhaps he didn't mean it after all. Whatever KP's current stance on the matter, or that of his employers for that matter, this series is set up intriguingly for him. He's up against the country of his birth which always adds spice to these encounters, and on top of that, KP will be out to prove to the ECB and all his doubters that he's still the best batsman England have got, and that could ensure there are fireworks every time KP takes to the crease.

Slightly away from the limelight, but nevertheless still a splendid batsman waiting to fulfil his potential, Ravi Bopara returns to England's test squad having impressed against Australia in the ODI's. Injury earlier in the summer lead to Jonny Bairstow deputise for Bopara against the West Indies, and whilst the experience for Bairstow was a good one, even if his own form perhaps faltered as he struggled in particular with the short ball, Bopara was always the intended number six this summer.

Bopara has long been earmarked as the successor to Paul Collingwood for England, but has failed to capitalise on an impressive start to his international career. He scored three hundreds on the tour of the West Indies in 2009, but has struggled since, leading to the likes of Eoin Morgan and Bairstow being auditioned for the role instead. In 2012 he has shown that he can bat at international level, can he now transfer that promise and ability to the test arena?

England captain Andrew Strauss is another batsman who will be keen to show everyone that he's still got it. The Middlesex man went into this summer under pressure after a tough winter on tour in the sub-continent (he wasn't alone). Sure, a classy ton at Lords against the West Indies got the monkey off his back, but Strauss will be keen to continue with contributions against the classy South African attack. 

His successor in waiting, Alastair Cook, has continued to impress leading the One Day side, who have won their last 10 matches under his guidance now, so Strauss knows that he needs to deliver, or the doubters will circle over him once more.

The final batsman to look out for in this series isn't actually a 'batsman' at all, but it is his batting that might just keep him in the team. Tim Bresnan's batting prowess means he is favoured in the side over the likes of Steven Finn. Batting at eight, he lengthens England's middle order whilst providing solid support with the ball. 

Let's be fair, Bressie lad is more than just a stop-gap bowler who can bat a bit, clearly. But with Finn in such fine form in the ODI side, and with Bopara and his medium pacers seemingly in the side for the first test, perhaps Bresnan will be sacrificed for the faster and more explosive bowling of Finn? 

It would be a gamble for the selectors to take this approach, and one that is unnecessary before a ball is bowled in this series in my view, but if England lose at the Oval and need to chase the series a little, perhaps Bresnan will be sacrificed?

It's set up to be a really remarkable series, the winner taking the top test side in the world title; it's like a heavyweight boxing unification fight. May the best team win - we're in for a cracker!