LOCAL cricketer Ravi Bopara looks set to be given a chance to make England's number three spot his own, after he was given the nod by the national selectors for the first Test against the West Indies next week.

The former Hainault and Clayhall all-rounder is one of the country's brightest prospects with the bat, and the selectors have given the clearest indication yet that Bopara will be the man to take on the Australians in this summer's Ashes, by preferring him to former captain Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell and Owais Shah.

The decision to include the Essex star above established internationals Bell and Vaughan will raise plenty of eyebrows from pundits in the game, especially given Bell's impressive early season form, which has seen the Warwickshire man blast two centuries already.

Vaughan has also begun well, with a knock of 82 in the friends Provident Trophy for Yorkshire, but the selectors have decided to take a gamble on the flamboyant Bopara.

“There was a lot of competition for that batting position but Bopara now has the opportunity to stake a claim. He showed in Barbados that he has the ability to play at Test level,” said selector Geoff Miller, referring to the 23-year-old's maiden Test hundred against the Windies in Barbados, during England's winter tour.

The task is a stiff one for Bopara, who batted at six then, with more of a licence to open his shoulders.

He will have to harness his attacking instincts that he is currently exercising in the Indian Premier League in South Africa, while his temperament will be put to the test at number three.

Bopara has set Essex alight with his dazzling array of shots, which helped to propel the county side to the Friends Provident title last season.