Series win would be massive for England, in-form

Ravi Bopara played a vital role along with his skipper Alastair Cook in lifting England to two creditable victories over Pakistan at the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi this week. The Essex all-rounder hit a pair of half-centuries to ensure his team posted totals good enough to see off Pakistan's threat. Bopara is now hoping to continue his form in the two remaining one-day matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and ensure a series win for England. "It's going to be a massive thing for us to win here," he said. "We haven't had a good one-day record in the sub-continent so it's a big thing for us to win out here. It will give us the confidence to know that we can do it in sub-continent conditions." But Bopara will not be getting carried away with the two victories in Abu Dhabi. "To go up 2-0 in any series is pretty good but we are keeping our feet on the ground," he said. Unpredictable "We know from the Test series what Pakistan are capable of doing. They are a very unpredictable side. "They will come out hard in the next couple of games, so we have to stay aware and keep doing what we've been doing." When asked about how delighted he is at his form, Bopara said: "I felt a lot better in the second game than I did in the first game. I was just getting used to the bowlers and it was my second game since October. It makes a massive difference once you've had that time at the crease. The good thing is that Alastair Cook is in great form. Hopefully he can go into the third match and get some more runs. "Some of the other guys are due to fire now as well. It's looking good for us. "I'm not analysing where I am at the moment," he said. "I remember in the summer, against India, I had a good series but then I went out to India and didn't have such a good series. Things can change so quickly. "I'm just keeping my feet on the ground. I'm only thinking about [Saeed] Ajmal and how I'm going to deal with him." Bopara wants to play Test cricket again, but first he wants to do well in the present. "I'm not looking ahead to Sri Lanka," he said. "We have two more one-dayers and three T20s here. There are so many games before we start thinking about Sri Lanka. The conditions over there are fairly similar. "Obviously I want to play Test cricket for England and that's my ultimate goal."