Defeat hurts heroic Bopara

Ravi Bopara during his half-century © Getty Images

Buy this photo

View photo story

Ravi Bopara insisted the heartbreak of England’s dramatic defeat against Sri Lanka was still overshadowing the pleasure at his first one-day international half-century.

The 21-year-old Essex all-rounder had already shown glimpses he had a future at the highest level in his four previous games in the tournament.

But on Wednesday night he firmly stamped his mark on England’s campaign with a man of the match display as Sri Lanka clinched a two-run victory in the Super Eight showdown at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium.

His 52 off 53 balls prompted captain Michael Vaughan to predict Bopara had “a big future in the game,” but Bopara insisted the pain of losing far outweighed any personal achievement.

Asked whether the innings, which included four boundaries, had launched his international career, Bopara said: “I’ve not really thought about it - it’s not about personal milestones, it’s about winning and unfortunately we didn’t win and I’m gutted.”

Bopara played with an assured maturity at number seven © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Bopara’s defiant innings transformed England from looking at defeat to within one shot of victory after sharing a 87-run stand spanning 15 overs with Paul Nixon having come together with England reeling on 133 for six.

Their efforts guided England into a position where Bopara needed only three off the final ball to seal an amazing triumph, only to be bowled by seamer Dilhara Fernando.

“I’m the type of guy who just goes out there and looks at where I want to score - I don’t get too emotional about the situation,” explained Bopara.

“I went out there and tried to play normally and play how I do for Essex. I felt good, but I was gutted we didn’t get over the line.

“I didn’t think about settling for a tie (off the last ball) because if you do that you can end up losing, but if you go for the win there is always the chance you could get a tie so I went for the win.”

He added: “When I got to the crease I had a quick chat with Paul about knocking it about for 10 or 15 overs and then seeing where we were for the last five.

“It’s quite hard to score five or six an over against guys like Murali, but if you take a chance against those guys and it comes off you can get on top.”

Wednesday’s defeat leaves England needing to win at least three of their remaining four matches to stand any chance of qualifying for their first semi-final since 1992.

That run of matches begins with Sunday’s big clash with Australia at the same venue while they also face a tough match against South Africa, rated as the world’s number one limited overs team, in Barbados on April 17.