Ravi Bopara has signed up for Sussex, bringing to an end his time at Essex. The move is a result of Bopara wishing to focus more on white-ball cricket.
He now shifts to the south coast, having turned down a new contract at Chelmsford. The major sticking point was Bopara’s reported desire to play more in foreign T20 leagues. But while Essex could not be convinced, it would seem Sussex are content for him to seize those opportunities.
The batting-all-rounder had also reportedly been unhappy at being pushed down the order in Essex’s T20 side, despite his and the team’s success in the latter half of the season. He was dropped three games into the campaign, but returned to lead Essex’s charge to the T20 Blast trophy.
— Ravi Bopara (@ravibopara) October 16, 2019
Before being dropped, he had scored just 12 runs from 18 balls. After returning, seemingly with a more positive attitude to his position, Bopara plundered 279 from 161. That included 219 runs for just one wicket in his last five innings. It remains to be seen if the move south corresponds to a move north in the batting order.
He will, however, be available for the Division Two side in red-ball cricket, and his focus on the shorter formats is not a simple cash-grab by any means. He is also targeting a return to England colours. “I want to emphasise that I am not giving up red-ball cricket but I will, for now, play less of it to find time in the calendar year to up-skill in T20 and take my game to a new level as I still have a drive to play international cricket,” Bopara said.
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Bopara last played for the national side in the 2015 World Cup. His only appearance in the disastrous campaign came in one of England’s two wins, but his role in the rain-affected thumping of Afghanistan was restricted to a bowler as England lost a solitary wicket.
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With T20 World Cups scheduled for the next two years – in Australia in 2020 and India in 2021 – Bopara is targetting a national comeback. But whether he is needed with many younger, and equally explosive, batsmen knocking on the door for international honours, is another question entirely. Players such as Tom Banton, Ollie Pope and Will Jacks may well preclude any international return for the former Essex man.
