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Bopara backs Cook to shine

Image: Bopara and Cook will open the batting for Essex on Finals Day

Ravi Bopara insists it is only a matter of time before Essex and England team-mate Alastair Cook returns to the top of his game.

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Batsman Ravi Bopara insists it is only a matter of time before Essex and England team-mate Alastair Cook returns to the top of his game. Cook's place at the top of the order in Test cricket has come under scrutiny after a lean run of form which has seen him score just 100 runs in his last seven innings. The left-hander is currently back at his county and will look to rediscover some form during Saturday's Friends Provident t20 Finals Day extravaganza at the Rose Bowl. Cook and Bopara are expected to open the batting for the Eagles when they kick-off the day's action against Hampshire live on Sky Sports HD1/1. And Bopara believes his county team-mate is too good a player not to bounce back.

Back to basics

"He (Cook) was really upbeat this morning, smiling and joking. I batted with him in the middle and he batted really well, struck the ball beautifully and doesn't look like anything's wrong with him," Bopara told Sky Sports News. "Nobody knows what he's going through, nobody knows what he's thinking. I think it's hard for other people to tell him what he needs to do. "He'll know himself what he needs to do. It's wrong for other people to say he needs to do this or go back to basics. He knows the basics of cricket. He wouldn't play for England if he didn't know the basics of batting. "He's a smart guy, he's a good batsman, he's scored runs for England, he's scored runs for Essex, there's nothing wrong with his technical game. "You just go through those patches where it's not your time. You've got to stick it out and I'm sure he'll come through it."

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