He turned 40 earlier this year but the Northamptonshire player and Karachi Kings coach is not done yetBy Wisden Cricket MonthlyAt some point during our chat in the back garden of a Hertfordshire coffeehouse, most likely between the account of his recent hundred for England Legends and his stated dream to win another Blast – whether that be for Northants, for whom he has a quarter-final coming up, or even one day his belovedly dysfunctional Essex – it hits me who Ravi Bopara reminds me of.Now, for the tape: Bopara is one of my all-time favourite cricketers. Best be forewarned that this is likely to veer into hagiography if we’re not too careful. To me, Bopara – no, let’s go with Ravi – was chiefly a great idea who came within a couple of inside edges of becoming a great success. How we measure such things is subjective, of course, and we can get into that – weighing the numbers – in due course. But structurally and culturally, there can be no question that he was cut from different material, and that for a time he wore those threads for all they were worth. This is a cricketer who, with the money from his first England games, bought a chicken shop in East Ham, setting up a cosy bolthole for his family from where he briefly threatened to shake up the English game. Continue reading…