The best from the west, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the beast from the east, the Boston Celtics, are going at it for the eleventh time to decide the most prestigious trophy in sports history.Between these two teams they have showcased the most noteworthy match-ups in NBA history; from Bill Russell vs WiltChamberlain to Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird. Now Boston’s Big 3 of Allen, Garnett, Pierce face LA’s Big 3 of Gasol, Bryant, and Odom.While analyzing this series, there are plenty of matchups to look out for, but the matchup I am going to be looking at, which is going to be the key in taking this chapter, are the benches of the Celtics and Lakers. I believe that the Boston Celtics have the deeper bench and will go on to take this series in a hard fought seven games            . Despite not fulfilling his potential in Sri Lanka for the England Test side, Ravi Bopara today showed why he should be involved in the England setup.Playing for Essex in the Friends Provident trophy quarter-final at Grace Road, Bopara hit 201 from just 138 balls, including 18 fours and 10 sixes! Essex ended up with 350 from their fifty overs and their Leicestershire opponents fell way short of the substantial target.Bopara’s score goes in 7th place in the all-time List A one-day scores, being only the eighth player to score a double century in the limited-overs game Bopara also beat Essex’s highest one day score by two.

The previous holder was Graham Gooch who hit 198* against Sussex in 1982.Bopara chooses a terrific time to show such great form, with the One Day International Series against the Black Caps starting on June 15th and the Twenty20 International two days beforehand.It must be said, a player who can do this will want to improve on his current ODI average of just 27.50. He will also wish to emulate his domestic form on the international scene and add more to his solitary fifty.The full list of players to score a double century in a one day match:268   A.D. Brown         Surrey v Glamorgan                        Oval           2002222* R.G. Pollock         Eastern Province v Border           East London   1974/75207  Mohammad Ali      Customs v Defence                     Sialkot           2004/05206   A.I. Kallicharran   Warwickshire v Oxfordshire         Birmingham      1984203   A.D. Brown         Surrey v Hampshire                    Guildford      1997202* A.

Barrow          Natal v South Africa African XI       Durban         1975/76201* R. Bopara          Essex v Leicestershire                  Leicester        2008201   V.J. Wells          Leicestershire v Berkshire             Leicester         1996. As a lifelong Cubs fan, I’m used to the heartbreak of seeing the North Siders drop a huge lead, the occasional Championship Series, and the season altogether.I’ve gone through the torment of a 66-96 season to close Dusty Baker’s final year as manager.