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Mark Ravin Ramprakash, the man refuses to score anything less than three figures these days.
See what he has done now...
At 39 and 256 days, he has scored a 94 ball 102 in the Friends Provident Trophy. With 50 of those runs split 50:50 between those balls sent over and across the rope.
I am sure Ramps would be a "discussion point" when the selectors sit for the next England ODI or T20 team.
He would be one player whose "name" frequented the selection meetings more than coffee's and donuts / biscuts
PS: We at BCC! have neither coffee or donuts while we discuss cricket, see how many times his "name" has cropped up in our discussions
Showing posts with label Surrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surrey. Show all posts
And, he's back again...
I am a seasoned marksman
At odds with John Buchanan during his brief and turbulent reign as county coach, Ramprakash endured a torrid time as Middlesex captain between 1997 and 1999. In 2001 he crossed the Thames, partly to play in the first division (relegation in 2005 was not in the script), partly in despair at what he considered Middlesex's lack of ambition. Joining a star-laden Surrey team was "the best decision I've ever made". The pressure, crucially, "was not all on me, which helped me relax and express myself ".
We saw what the mark of a cricketer looked like, on top we see what a marksman of good cricketers looks like.
Ramps is a strong man, determined to play cricket till date, and score all those hundreds at will... At 39+ (age and not average!!)
Is Brendan McCullum strong enough??
Mark of a cricketer
Most of the cricketers these days look at picking up a couple of endorsement contracts when they are in their 20's, sign a lucrative contract with their respective boards by their mid 20's and move on to IPL or ICL when they are closing 30 and retire into a commentary box when they are about to touch 35.
There are a blessed few whom their parents christened Shane, Adam & Mathew who after passing 35 and retiring from international cricket start their career afresh. Playing what is dubbed the 3G version of cricket, the T20 and being a force to reckon with.
There are a few not so blessed...
When I say not so blessed I mean, when god made them he said may you have all the talent in the world... But... But, you shall always lack luck. These are the guys who show tremendous potential but they always have detractors crying a false start. But most of the guys in this category got their chances, they had at least one set of favorable board in their entire career that they got a good run with their national teams. Case points being Vinod Kambli of India & Graeme Hick of England.
But here is one cricketer who would have fared better had be been a football in EPL. He was kicked all over, his share of international cricket came in piece meal installments. Whenever England didn't want any favorite sons get to the abattoir, Ramprakash was called in. Be it a difficult Ashes (the Gatting's magic ball Ashes) or a doomed Indian tour, he was called in as the sacrificial lamb.
The class act he is, closing 40 in a matter of another 121 days he still churns out 100's for his team Surrey. I am not sure if I would even have some motivation to play street cricket when I am 40. Given the fact that till date his name comes into the discussion tables of ECB whenever a test team is selected, only to strike his name off due to one reason or the other, I wonder what makes him tick. What makes him score all those 100's.
Ramps scored his hundred number 104 (I hope I'm right with this number!!) against his former team Middlesex day before (May 06). A team he captained for quite a while, including those days when the English press were going gaga about the arrival of who would be the best of English captains in the future.
Makes me wonder if he is a man or machine. Mark Ravin Ramprakash, would remain the enigma of English cricket.
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