Bopara in four wicket haul shock

England take series with huge win...and Ravi Bopara takes 4 for 39. Even he doesn't think he's an allrounder though, as this photo proves.

Allrounder update

I was interested to see Ravi Bopara, who has just been called up to the England one-day squad as a replacement for Ian Bell, described as an allrounder today.

The Essex man may have justified that description for his primary school team, but a career record for England in one-dayers of six wickets in fifty matches tells a different story.

If Ravi Bopara is an genuine allrounder, what does that make Paul Collingwood? The new Garry Sobers?

A not-so-Broad bat

A while back, I noted how cricketers who are widely-regarded as allrounders, or almost all-rounders, in their formative years, usually lose their mojo in one form of the game. Anyone remember Mike Atherton’s leg spin? Mark Butcher’s lively fast-medium?

With Butcher, as with many others, the cause was injury, but this is certainly not the case with Stuart Broad. Only a year ago, Broad was the first Englishman to be granted the title of ‘The New Freddie’. Now, with bat in hand, he looks like a more stylish Monty Panesar, but without the ability to get off the mark by edging through the slips.

In fact, in the series just finished against the Aussies, Broad took more wickets than he scored runs.

Freddie made his debut six years after Botham’s retirement. Don’t be surprised if we have to wait at least the same time again before another allrounder worthy of the name comes on the scene.