Essex have announced that they are close to completing a new deal to keep hold of England batsman Ravi Bopara.
England batsman Bopara future with the county was said to be in doubt after they suffered relegation from Division One of the LV= County Championship.
Warwickshire were linked with the 25-year-old who topped Essex’s four-day batting averages last year with 550 runs at 42.30.
However Bopara, who is set to fly out to South Africa later this month to play for the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins on a short-term contract, now seems set to extend his stay at Chelmsford.
Hugely influential
“The club can today announce that the discussions are ongoing and close to completion,” a statement from Essex read.
“Bopara has been a hugely influential player for the club and is an invaluable member of the team for the forthcoming 2011 season.”
Essex chief executive, David East, revealed that they are now awaiting the outcome of a meeting to decide the format of next season’s competitions before completing discussions over Bopara’s new contract.
“The club are waiting for the ECB and PCA to agree the format of the competition before things can go further,” East said.
“Once this situation has been clarified then the whole process will be able to be completed between the club and Ravi.
“Ravi has risen through the academy system and has now developed into a top-class cricketer both domestically and internationally.
“He is very much one of our own and a huge asset to the squad.”
