Bopara sent to County Championship

Bopara, 24, will get an opportunity to rediscover some form with Essex ahead of the Ashes decider next week with county colleague Alastair Cook, Warwickshire's Ian Bell, spinner Graeme Swann and paceman Graham Onions the others.

Bopara, who is under huge pressure for his place in the side following a run of just 105 runs in seven innings against Australia, will play in the LV County Championship contest against Middlesex at Lord's, which starts on Tuesday.

Hugh Morris, managing director England Cricket, said: "Following discussions with the England team management, it has been decided to make a number of players available to their counties for four-day cricket this week.

"We are aware that we underperformed with bat and ball at Headingley and this decision is designed to give players an opportunity to spend time in the middle and get overs under their belt ahead of the decisive fifth npower Test at The Brit Oval next week."

Under normal circumstances, players would not have been available but the fact England were trounced by an innings and 80 runs in little more than seven sessions of the penultimate Ashes Test opened up the chance for match practice.

For the misfiring England batsmen - the home team have managed just one hundred in comparison to Australia's seven - it is the equivalent of naughty boy nets.

Bopara, Bell and Paul Collingwood managed just 16 runs between them in six visits to the crease in Leeds and will need to repair confidence with the final Ashes Test at the Brit Oval 10 days away.

The rest of England's squad, including captain Andrew Strauss, will rest up and report to the Brit Oval next Monday.