Big-hitting Bopara fires a reminder to selectors

Ravi Bopara is hammering on the England door after smashing his second unbeaten ton inside a week.

His latest whirlwind effort was 112 not out off only 59 balls. And for good measure, the all-rounder then claimed four wickets to help Essex win their NatWest Pro40 game at Derby.

Only last Friday, Bopara's 101 not out guided Essex to victory over Gloucestershire to add momentum to their County Championship promotion bid.

A muscular pull off Greg Smith was the first of Bopara's seven sixes yesterday as he sped to a 38-ball half-century.

Jason Gallian claimed his third one-day 100 of the season but was overshadowed by Bopara whose second 50 came off 16 balls and included planting Graham Wagg for four consecutive sixes.

Bopara, dropped by England after failing in three Tests in Sri Lanka last winter, has been a revelation this summer. He has scored 911 first-class runs for Essex (three hundreds) at an average of 65.07. And his 634 runs in one-day games (two centuries and 24 sixes) come at 79.25.

Derbyshire made a good fist of chasing down Essex's 304 for one but finished on 279 for eight.