Bopara feeling focussed

Bopara, 22, might have been viewed as the England squad's back-up batsman upon departure for Sri Lanka a fortnight ago but he has built a strong case for inclusion with a strong all-round performance at Asgiriya on Saturday.

"I felt a lot of expectation playing England Under-19 and I became tense, I always wanted to score runs and was thinking about the big picture," he said. "I forgot about the bloke running in with the red ball in his hand. At the end of the day that is the most important thing - I learned from those experiences that nothing else matters in the world apart from that red ball."

He added: "One of the things Sachin Tendulkar said to me last summer was to be as natural as you can on the day - that is what I try to do."

Bopara has shown remarkable composure in pressure situations since making his one-day international bow earlier this year.

He almost engineered a sensational win against Sri Lanka at the World Cup, hitting a maiden half-century after an England collapse, but was bowled by Dilhara Fernando after needing three off the last ball in Antigua.

Fernando unsettled Bopara's focus by dummying the final delivery of the match, failing to release the ball on his initial run-up.

"If I was watching that ball I would be able to remember it very clearly but I don't," admitted Bopara. "I remember it as a bit of a blur, so I might have been thinking about the big picture at the time.

"It did bother me that we lost. I remember tossing and turning in my bed that night, thinking 'what an opportunity we had as a team to go through to the semi-finals. It played on my mind a lot.

"I just said to myself: 'if you are in that situation again, you make sure you win that game for England'."