left out of the side. This never came to fruition, however, as England fell to a heavy defeat in the final. The same day, Bopara was also handed an Increment Contract by the ECB. 2008 New Zealand, South Africa and India Bopara made just three in the first ODI in New Zealand. He made 23 in the next match, but did not bowl in either matches. In the return series in England, Bopara got off to a slow start, making scores of 10 and 27 in his first two matches. However, in the fourth match of the series he made 58 although it wasn't enough to prevent a narrow defeat for England. He made 30 in the final match of the series, leaving him with over 100 runs in the matches he played in. He played in the first ODI against South Africa but was not required to bat, instead just bowling two overs and conceding 11 runs. England won the match by 20 runs. He made 54 not out in the first ODI against India as he continued to consolidate himself in the ODI side. In the third match he made 60, although England lost the game by 16 runs. In the final match of the series he took figures of 1–42 as well as contributing 24 runs with the bat, although England again lost, this time by six wickets. 2009 T20 World Cup, West Indies and Australia On 18 February 2009, Bopara, along with Amjad Khan, was invited to join the England Test squad on their tour of the West Indies as cover for Andrew Flintoff who was struggling with a hip injury. He scored 124 not out in a warm up match, earning him a place in the 4th Test against the West Indies. In the first innings he scored his maiden Test century with 104 off 143 balls before being caught. He was dropped for the next Test of the series, however he was re-selected for the first Test of the home series against the West Indies on 6 May. There he scored his second consecutive Test century, scoring 143 runs from 186 balls. He then scored another century in the second Test, becoming only the fifth England player to score three consecutive centuries. He credited his success to his coaching by Graham Gooch at Essex. Bopara played well in England's opening game of the T20