By Oliver Brett

When the squad for the Test series in Sri Lanka was announced, the absence of Andrew Strauss overshadowed everything else.

The potential that Bopara is showing now is greater than Owais showed at that stage in his career Robert Croft

But the spare batting spot created an opportunity for either Owais Shah or Ravi Bopara to nail down a long run in England whites.

Shah is the more experienced - the 29-year-old was an emergency stand-in for the final Test against India in Mumbai in March 2006 and hit 88 and 38 as England won to tie the series.

But he suffered a double failure in coach Peter Moores's first Test in charge, against West Indies at Lord's, after being given a chance on his home ground while Michael Vaughan waited in the wings to make his comeback from injury.

For Bopara, 22, the Sri Lanka tour is the first time he has been in a Test squad of any sort.

The highly-rated Essex player's rise to prominence is a bit of a fairytale as he grew up in the cricket-starved East End of London and had to beg his school to set up a team.

Both he and Shah have been members of Moores's one-day squad, which has beaten India at home and Sri Lanka away in the last three months.

606: DEBATE Shah or Bopara? Have your say

Glamorgan stalwart Robert Croft, who played in England's 2-1 Test series triumph in Sri Lanka in 2000/01, has bowled at both men on the county circuit and says it will be a tough choice between them.

"Both are very good county players, but they are still to make that step-up to show that they demand selection in Test cricket," said Croft.

"Sickness, fitness and form in the warm-up matches all come into the equation.

"But if England play two seamers and two spinners - which they probably should on turning wickets - Bopara gets ahead of Shah because of the medium-pace bowling option he provides.

OWAIS SHAH FACTFILE Born: 22.10.78, Karachi, Pakistan ODI record: 702 runs at 26.00 First-class record: 11,913 runs at 43.00

"Bearing in mind their ages Shah would have slightly more strings to his bow, but the potential that Bopara is showing now is greater than Owais showed at that stage in his career.

"It's a real difficult one, a close one. I've got a feeling they'll probably go with Shah."

Moores and Vaughan did not gain much insight from the first warm-up game on tour.

Shah made 38 before retiring on a dead wicket, while Bopara hit 40 not out - each man collecting three boundaries and scoring their runs at a similar rate.

Then, in the second match on Monday, Bopara top-scored with 47 in England's miserable 134 all out, while Shah's 26 occupied 98 balls.

It may well end up being a call based on a hunch, with Bopara's better fielding cancelled out by Shah's greater knowledge of sub-continent conditions.

As batsmen, Bopara is a compact player with a solid defence who tends to favour the off-side for scoring opportunities; Shah likes to use his wrists to manoeuvre the ball into gaps.

RAVI BOPARA FACTFILE Born: 4.5.85, Forest Gate, London ODI record: 304 runs at 30.40 First-class record: 3,206 runs at 39.09

Shah indicated when the squad was announced that he felt he had a slight edge.

"Hopefully I've put in enough performances over the last six or seven months since I started playing for England again to earn a crack at Test cricket.

"It is a form of the game everyone wants to prove himself in and I would love to get the opportunity to do so in Sri Lanka," he said.

But Bopara's Essex mentor Graham Gooch says his protege has proved in one-day cricket that he has the character to succeed at the highest level.

"England back him, and I do too, to prove that he is the type of player who can also succeed in the longer game," Gooch commented.

Bopara must grow up quickly in Sri Lankan conditions but, if given the nod over Shah, a successful showing could see him cement a Test place for some time to come.