Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer and cricket coach.

He is currently the President and batting coach for Middlesex.

He came to national prominence when, at the age of 18, he won the man-of-the match award in the 1988 NatWest Trophy Final after his innings of 56 helped Middlesex beat Worcestershire.

Ramprakash, a talented all-round sportsman at a young age, had to choose between playing football for Watford FC and continuing his playing career in cricket.

His choice was made easier after Watford moved to London Colney training centre shared with Arsenal and after losing 7–0 he chose to continue with cricket.

During his early days as a professional cricketer, Ramprakash had a reputation as something of a mercurial and stormy character.

Nicknamed "Bloodaxe" by Middlesex team-mates for his short temper, Ramprakash's younger days contrasted with the relaxed mellowness of his thirties.

However, at times he continued to display the fiery temper that some say prevented him from fully succeeding at international level.

Despite being advised to keep his aggression at bay by teammates, including Graham Gooch and Adam Hollioake he often struggled to control it, resulting in verbal attacks and various dressing room tantrums.

He scored his maiden first-class century at Headingley against Yorkshire in 1989, and captained the England U-19 team.

Ramprakash was selected for his first Test match for England against the West Indies at Headingley in 1991.

This was the same game in which Graeme Hick also made his England Test debut and, like Hick, he struggled to impress, producing a series of disappointing scores in the 20s - albeit usually spending a lot of time compiling them.

It is also fair to say that the 1991 West Indies attack was still the best and fastest in the world as well as some pitches in that 1991 series were not straightforward to bat on - especially Headingley and Edgbaston.

Ramprakash (like Hick) at least contributed in the field on his Test debut as England recorded their first victory in a home Test match against the West Indies for 22 years.

He played all 6 test matches in 1991 but managed a 0 against the lesser pace of Sri Lanka.

He did not play any test matches in 1991/92 in New Zealand and was immediately dropped after another 0 on a feather bed of a pitch at Edgbaston against Pakistan.

Recalled for the 4th test of that series, he again failed to distinguish himself.

However, his consistent heavy scoring in county cricket meant that he was always on the fringes of selection and considered worthy of a further Test opportunity.

Like Hick, England's test opponents in 1991 and 1992 represented the very best bowling attacks of their time (Walsh, Ambrose, Marshall, Patterson, Akram, Younis, Mushtaq).

While neither Hick nor Ramprakash had any success, they may be considered unlucky not to have settled in against weaker opponents.

He was recalled to the England team for the final Test of the 1993 Ashes series.

With Australia already 4–0 up it was a dead rubber, but he produced his first substantial innings for England by scoring 64 to help the team grab a consolation victory.

This booked him a place on the subsequent tour of the West Indies.

However, another string of low scores meant he was dropped and out of the selectors' plans.

Ramprakash was not selected in the touring party for the 1994–95 Ashes series, but was chosen as vice-captain for the England A tour to India.

He became a particularly prolific run scorer when he moved to Surrey in 2001, averaging over 100 runs per innings in two successive seasons (2006 & 2007).

He is one of only 25 players in the history of the sport to have scored 100 first-class centuries.

In November 2012, he was announced as the batting coach for the England Lions in India.

In January 2013 he was appointed as batting coach for Middlesex, on a two-year contract.

In November 2014 he was appointed as England's batting coach and served for six years.

He returned to Middlesex as a consultant batting coach in 2022, a role, he has combined with a director of cricket role for Harrow School.

Middlesex elected him as their 26th club president for a two-year term in 2023, succeeding Mike Selvey.

Mark Ramprakash was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and is of Indo-Guyanese and English descent.

His father, born in British Guiana, was Indo-Guyanese and his mother was English.

He attended Gayton High School (now Harrow High School), and then Harrow Weald Sixth Form College.

His first local club was Bessborough Cricket Club in Headstone Lane, Harrow where he showed early promise as a fast bowler before concentrating on his batting.

He played his first match for Middlesex aged just 17, scoring 63 not out against Yorkshire, and top-scoring with 71 in his second match against Essex at Chelmsford (he was still a sixth-form student at the time).

In addition since 2020, he has been the director of cricket for Harrow School.

A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected initially for England aged 21.

A gifted, and one of the heaviest-scoring, English batsman of his generation at county level, he rarely performed to his full potential during a long but intermittent international career.