Bopara still hungry for time at crease

Watch Ravi Bopara's interview with ECBtv after day three of the Edgbaston match in the player above

Ravi Bopara conceded that retiring after a century was not his favourite sensation - but was grateful for the warm-up his fellow England batsmen were afforded in the warm-up match at Edgbaston.

Bopara, England’s number three, resumed overnight on 88 and retired on 104, giving Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior the chance to score fifties of their own.

“It’s not the best feeling,” Bopara told ECBtv. “Sometimes when you’ve got a ton it’s the best time to bat. You’ve got through the nineties and then free up.

“But it was important for Matt Prior and Paul Collingwood, who both got fifties. Hitting sixes to get their landmarks, as Matt did, is very important.

“It was key. We wanted to get all the guys more of a bat, but we had to cram it in at the end (because of rain). We also lost an hour at the end.

“It was a warm-up game but we took it very seriously.”

After England declared on 319 for three, the bowlers had a second chance for some overs against Warwickshire's batsmen. And in those 12 overs, Andrew Flintoff snared Ateeq Javed with a pacy delivery.

"Fred's so strong at the moment," added Bopara. "All the work he's put in is shown by how he bowled this evening."