Bopara books semi-final berth

4 June 2008

Ravi Bopara celebrates the moment of his double ton triumph © Getty Images

Ravi Bopara hit a brilliant unbeaten double century against Leicestershire Foxes at Grace Road to take Essex Eagles into the semi-finals of the Friends Provident Trophy.

Watched by national selector Geoff Miller, the 23-year-old Essex all-rounder scored an unbeaten 201 off 138 balls with 18 fours and 10 sixes as the Eagles posted 350 for five having been 37 for three at one stage.

It set a target Leicestershire never looked like reaching and they were hustled out for 232 in 41 overs giving Essex a crushing victory by 118 runs with nine overs to spare.

Bopara's innings was a record for Essex in one-day cricket and only the fourth double century to be scored in this competition.

He could hardly have produced it at a better time having been named in England's squad for the NatWest Series against New Zealand which starts a week on Sunday.

Miller said: “It was a fantastic knock. From the position Essex were in it was a perfect one-day innings.”

Batting first after winning the toss, the Eagles struggled against some lively new-ball bowling from South Africans Garnett Kruger and Dillon du Preez.

Kruger snapped up the wickets of Mark Pettini and Jason Gallian in successive overs and Du Preez sent Essex slumping to 37 for three when he nipped one back to bowl Varun Chopra in the ninth over.

Bopara launches one of ten sixes in his spectacular innings of 201 © Getty Images

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But Bopara set about repairing the damage in spectacular fashion. He hit four successive boundaries off Nadeem Malik's first over and struck two more in the next from Kruger. It was a taste of things to come.

With Ryan ten Doeschate providing solid support the fourth-wicket pair shared a stand of 67 in 10 overs before the Dutchman was bowled for 27.

That brought in wicketkeeper James Foster and the next 28 overs produced some sensational batting from Bopara.

He reached his 50 with a six off Claude Henderson having faced 43 balls and hit 10 other boundaries. Two more sixes followed off Jeremy Snape as Bopara completed his century off 85 balls while Foster reached his 50 off 65 balls.

But it was Bopara who continued to dominate with an array of blazing attacking shots even after losing Foster, who was caught in the deep for 61.

Another superb six off Malik - the 10th of his innings - took Bopara to a double century with his final 50 coming off only 16 balls.

A target of 351 always looked beyond the Foxes after HD Ackerman was caught behind off the second ball of the first over from Alex Tudor.

It was an uphill struggle after that apart from the fourth-wicket stand of 104 between Matt Boyce who made 57 and Foxes captain Paul Nixon who top-scored with 62.

But it was Bopara who had the last word by taking two wickets in two balls as the Foxes slid to defeat with nine overs still remaining.