Ramprakash sets mark for Surrey

Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash is preparing for his 20th season in first class cricket and things do not get any easier as Surrey attempt to bounce back from relegation in the County Championship at the first attempt.

The stylish batsman started last season as
vice-captain to Mark Butcher and ended up at the helm for most of the summer, but could not keep Surrey in the top flight despite another prolific season with the bat in which he scored 1,568 runs.

Surrey have been back in pre-season for only a few days and Ramprakash and his team-mates are in the midst of fitness tests to determine any areas that need to be improved before the rigours of a full season of county cricket.

Reflecting on the demands of pre-season training, the 36-year-old told ecb.co.uk: “I won’t miss it when I retire but it is all necessary to find out where we are at before the start of the season, and with a couple of new coaches involved it is a bit different this year.

“We have done the dreaded ‘bleep’ test, which measures your aerobic capacity, and we have also been working on other more cricket-specific areas and in the gym working on our strength.

“We have already done some pilates and there will be some yoga somewhere down the line but Stewart Walters has really stood out with his fitness.“

Ramprakash’s 79th first class century, against former employers Middlesex, could not prevent Surrey’s relegation but plans are in hand for the side to regain their premier status.

Ramprakash is set for his 20th season in first class cricket

“The first two or three weeks will be mostly about fitness but we are due to have a meeting to discuss how we can improve as a team and address the difficulties we had last year,“ Ramprakash continued.

“We had our fair share of injury problems last season and some of our bowlers are in their early 30s, like Martin Bicknell and Mohammad Akram, so we will have to look after them a bit, while Jimmy Ormond has had his fair share of injury problems.

“But on the other hand we have some good young bowling talent in Jade Dernbach and, of course, Tim Murtagh.”

Surrey were county champions three times between 1999 and 2002 and the forthcoming season will be their first outside Division One since the championship was split in 2001.

Everyone at The Brit Oval is determined to make sure that relegation is just a small blip in their history.

“We would like to bounce back as soon as possible, “added Ramprakash. “It is going to be a big challenge for the team.

“We play all our home games on very good wickets at The Oval but if you go through our away match sequence, we play on very different types of surfaces like Swansea, Colchester, Northants, Derby and Leicester.

“I think we have to adapt our play when we go away from home and the big question is whether we can adapt.”

The Brown Hatters are going to Mumbai in March for some outdoor training as part of their preparations and new coach Alan Butcher has installed current England A all-rounder Rikki Clarke as their new vice-captain.

Ramprakash explained: “Alan Butcher said to me that it was an attempt to bring the younger players closer to the older players, to bridge a gap.

“Mark Butcher is the captain and, at 33, a bit older, and there are a few other older players like (Ian) Salisbury, (Ali) Brown, Bicknell and myself who are in the mid-30s to give the side experience.

“At the other end of the spectrum there are players like (Scott) Newman, Clarke and (Tim) Murtagh to give the side youthful exuberance.”

Ramprakash and Mark Butcher shared captaincy duties during a tough 2005 © Getty Images

Ramprakash played in 52 Tests and 18 one-day internationals during a stop-start England career and hit two Test centuries, including 133 against Australia at The Oval in August 2001.

During his long career he has learnt not to take anything for granted and is going to approach the new season in the time-honoured fashion of one match at a time.

He said: “I found quite early in my career that if I set targets for myself I put pressure on myself so my target is to do as well as I can in any given situation.

“So if we go away and a score of 240 is a good score, and I get 50 or 60, I will be happy because that might be in difficult conditions - so it is all relative really and I just try and do as well as I can.”

Ramprakash has agreed a new two-year contract which will keep him at The Oval until the end of the 2007 season but he realises you are a long time retired and can envisage continuing beyond his current deal.

“I would like to play for another three or four seasons but at the moment Surrey have only offered me a two-year deal,“ he added.

Cricket is not Ramprakash’s only sporting passion. He plays in midfield for the Arsenal celebrity team and is in the process of completing his football coaching awards.

He concluded: “I have done my FA level two coaching award and have been putting that to good use at Wellington College.

“It has mainly been cricket coaching at Wellington but I have done some football as well, which has all been good experience, and I am now doing my level four cricket award.”