Ravi Bopara all set to follow Kevin Pietersen’s footsteps - signs with Dolphins
Ravi Bopara, the English all-rounder, will join Kevin Pietersen at Durban-based franchise the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins this winter. After having missed main Ashes squad and the performance party that is flying to Australia on a crucial winter assignment, he
has opted to follow the footsteps of a wandering KP (Kevin Pietersen).
Bopara has signed a short-term deal with South Africa’s Dolphin franchise as the all-rounder eyes a spot in the English squad next year for the prestigious ICC World Cup.
25-years old Essex player will play two first-class matches and South Africa's domestic limited-overs tournament for the franchise, which is scheduled to be played between October 29th and December 10th.
Earlier it was agreed between the ECB selectors and Ravi Bopara that it would be better for the player to spend his winter playing regular cricket rather than being picked up in the reserve squad.
Last year, Bopara had played for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754. More than a one month stint with the Dolphins will provide Bopara an opportunity to search out a fine middle practice and some good runs on the board ahead of the 2011 ICC
World Cup.
The national selector of England, Geoff Miller, told media reporters that the board has given Bopara, an opportunity to play in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, rather than just going with the Performance squad. Miller said that the decision was taken after talking to the
player as well as his http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Essex-c783 coach, Paul Grayson.
"We gave him the opportunity to play in South Africa, and he was happy to do that, as opposed to just going with the Performance squad," said Geoff Miller. "We talked it through with his coach [Paul Grayson at Essex] as well. South Africa to Australia is
not a million miles away, so it's an opportunity for him to get good middle practice and some good runs on the board".
After his spell at the Dolphins, Bopara is expected to rejoin the national side in the limited-overs leg of the England tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in which the Ashes rivals are scheduled to play two T20Is and five One Day Internationals, ahead of the ICC World Cup
2011.
However, the axing of Bopara from the one-day squad in the midst of the recently concluded one-day series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 dims his prospects of being selected for England's future one-day tasks.
The all-rounder failed to capitalize on most of his chances in the absence of the prolific KP (Kevin Pietersen). Bopara started the five-match one-day series against Pakistan with an unbeaten 35 off 27 at Chester-le-Street but failed to maintain his form
in the next matches scoring 16 at Leeds and 7 at The Oval.
The chief executive of KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins, Mr. Jesse Chellan, has hailed the inclusion of Bopara into the franchise. He said the experience of Bopara would boost both the departments of Dolphins – bowling and batting.
"We were looking for an experienced player who could add value", Jesse Chellan told the news reporters. "Ravi was keen to play in South Africa and we knew he would want to prepare well ahead of the limited-overs leg of England's tour to Australia".
Nomadic Kevin Pietersen, in the meantime, will soon be travelling to Durban for his two-week spell with the Durban-based franchise Dolphins, his home club, as he continues to search for form ahead of the Ashes. Pietersen is planned to play two first-class
matches for the franchise between October 7 and 17.
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