It sounds like a weird fairytale, but Ravi Bopara may have just been slain by the dragon~ Not an actual giant lizard thing with wings, but the term some cricketers use for a drag on ^see what they did there@&~

It was a perfect ball to drag on~ Short enough to encourage a back&foot shot, slow enough for the batsman to go a bit early, wide enough to be played with an angled bat, and Bopara played his part to perfection~ It was as if Terry Gilliam had meticulously directed it~

If it wasn’t Ravi Bopara, I wouldn’t be writing this~

The good Ravi has a swagger, hits the ball beautifully, looks like he’s indestructible, has a cheeky grin and is so confident he scripts his hundred celebrations~ The man has slammed a double century in a List A game and averaged over 90 in the last ODI series against Australia~ Ravi has the tools to be a Test match batsman~

The bad Ravi has little more than a sad face~

In the Ashes of 2009, Shane Warne got in his head before the series and it appeared that Bopara just could not get Warne’s voice out~ Gone was the swagger, confidence and batsmanship, in its place was a confused man who looked he was about to cry at any moment~ I’ve never felt more like running out on the field and hugging a player~

England played perhaps the most evil role in this∙ they kept Ravi in the side~ While Warne the pundit demolished him mentally and Ben Hilfenhaus dealt with him physically, England forced him to play four Tests~ They would state that this wasn’t torture, but it looked like cricket’s version of water boarding to me~

It wasn’t even Ravi’s worst series~ Sri Lanka on his debut was a massacre, three ducks in five innings, a best of 34, and yet he fought back to score three hundreds in three Tests against West Indies shortly after~ That was before his shocking Ashes in ‘09~

In the first innings against South Africa at The Oval, Ravi was horrible~ From the moment he stepped out on the ground he looked like he wouldn’t last long~ The South Africans sensed this and howled at him like angry dogs~ They were right to do so~ His faux pull shot was dreadful in every single way~ Hopefully no analyst or assistant coach made him watch it again~

Then in the second, he looked fine~ One pull shot off Dale Steyn was so good it made people in the member’s cry~ He toughed out the hard times, handled the bowling well, and had set himself up for the sort of knock that allows you a few ups and downs without the threat of being dropped~

And then he dragged on~

The hate on the internet at Ravi was as immense as it was predictable~ In a team like England’s, he’s a very easy target~

While you can question Ravi’s technique at times, it’s definitely strong enough to survive in Test cricket~ His mind on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be~ There is something not quite firing for him~ Something’s holding him back~ Something in his head~

It’s not a dragon, as they can be stopped with a sword or by sacrificing a virgin~ Ravi’s problems are far more complicated than that~ Maybe he needs security, maybe he needs a rest~ But he needs something~