Ravi Bopara Comes in For Injured Jonathan Trott for Third Test at Edgbaston

India may have a foot in the door after all. That is because one of England’s most prolific run scorers is not expected to take the field for the third Test of the India England series at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Ravi Bopara

Jonathan Trott has been an enigma in the no.3 slot and one of the unsung kingpins in England’s cricket line up and en route to England inching their way to the top spot. However, his injury during fielding during the second Test at Trent Bridge was serious enough to warrant Ian Bell to be elevated to the no.3 spot even as Trott’s injured shoulder was seen in a sling.

With the ten day gap between the second and third Test, it was expected that Trott would be fit to take his place once more. However, while Trott appears to be recovering, the England selectors do not see the prudence in rushing his return and instead have named Ravi Bopara as his replacement.

It is an interesting choice because Trott has been the backbone, particularly when the England openers, Alastair Cook, and the England captain, Andrew Strauss, are yet to fire in the series. Trott’s absence opens up a bit of a vulnerability in England’s top order unless the openers decide to finally come to the party. Trott’s replacement compounds the problem because Ravi Bopara has not played a Test in two years although he did skip the IPL offer to focus on playing for Essex in England country cricket in a bid to regain his spot in the England Test team.

Since Bopara is making a comeback, a certain amount of nervousness can be expected and since the England openers will be expected to contribute rather than continue the piggy back ride, India, if they can get their bowlers to fire, should cut through the top order of England to give themselves a serious chance to win the Test and take the first step towards drawing the series at 2-2, a tough proposition given that England are leading 2-0 in the four Test series.

However, it has not always been England’s top order that has troubled the Indian bowlers as much as England’s wagging tail. With England set to maintain virtually the same core of players who won the second Test, it would seem that the faith in the England batting line up will not be shaking too much by Trott’s absence other than the delicate balance based on the form of the opening batsmen.

England have also decided to keep Chris Tremlett on the sidelines for the moment, even bringing in Steve Finn on standby, which means Tim Bresnan can breathe easy. Bresnan had come in for Tremlett in the second Test and created a tremendous impact with his ninety runs in the second innings and picking up a five wicket haul to hasten India’s defeat in the same Test. Even then Bresnan could not rest easy in the eventuality that Tremlett would be declared fit and thereby take back his spot in the team. However, that is going to prove harder for Tremlett should Bresnan keep challenging him for the sport.