Ravi Bopara: starting the season with a bang © Kieran Galvin

Ravi Bopara has cited his dropping from the England side in Sri Lanka as the catalyst which has led to his remarkable early-season form.

Bopara was discarded by England following a miserable tour of Sri Lanka in which he failed to score in his last three innings. Fast forward four months and Bopara has amassed 499 in just four innings since the season began, with Championship hundreds against Northamptonshire (150) and Derbyshire (137).

"The tough time I had in Sri Lanka has helped me - it has made me more determined to get back in there," he told the ECB's website. "Being dropped was a kick up the backside in a way because it shows what you need to do to survive at that level. I'm glad it happened now, at a young age. I'm more hungry for runs - to perform well and get my place back in that England team."

He has a fight on his hands to regain his Test spot, however. Alongside him are Robert Key, who struck 178 not out against the New Zealanders at Canterbury on Monday, and Owais Shah who many believe has been unlucky not to break his way back into the team. Key will captain them both in England Lions' match against New Zealand on May 8, the tourists' last warm-up game before the first Test on May 15 at Lord's.

"Some people might take it as a knock-back and not come back for it," Bopara said. "That's not me. I want to be put under that pressure again and I want to play for England. Playing Test cricket tells you where you are with your cricket - and to be able to do well there you've got to be a cut above anyone else in your county team.

"Sri Lanka showed me areas I need to work on and what I need to do to perform well at international level. I went away and worked on certain areas of my game, a couple of technical things.

"I didn't have to do a great deal of mental work because the hard time I had in Sri Lanka made me mentally tougher."