Ravi Bopara was looking to the future after being named Young Cricketer of the Year at an awards ceremony on Monday in London.

Bopara, 23, has had an eventful few months, having made his Test debut for England in Sri Lanka last December.

He also recorded Essex's first double hundred in one-day cricket and only the eighth in history in a Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road.

That unbeaten 201 ensured that Bopara's name was firmly back in the frame for England in all forms of the game and he was indeed recalled to the Test squad when Michael Vaughan quit the captaincy last month.

Bopara, who was presented with his award by 2007 winner Adil Rashid, is looking to use his award as a springboard.

He said: "Hopefully this can be the start of bigger things for me, away on tour with England this winter.

"I had a look at the list of previous winners and there are some very big

stars who have won this award, so it is a big honour."

Bopara has won three Test caps and appeared in 28 one-day internationals.

In addition to his outstanding limited-overs performances for FPT winners

Essex, who also won the NatWest Pro40 Division Two title and appeared in

Twenty20 finals day, Bopara has scored 1,046 runs and taken 25 wickets in 11 first-class matches this summer.

Other candidates for the prestigious award, voted for by members of the

Cricket Writers' Club and presented at the annual dinner, included Bopara's England colleague Stuart Broad, winner in 2006, Kent opener Joe Denly and Liam Dawson, of Hampshire.

Winners have to be England qualified and under the age of 23 on May 1 of the season in question.

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