for the 2nd season in a row ramprakash has averaged over 100 in the county championship,(the first time this has ever happened), hitting 19 tons.
at the end of last season i was hoping he would get a test recall to go to australia.
if the saying 'if you're good enough, you're old enough' is accepted ie. tendulkar making his test debut at 16, surely 'if you're good enough, you're young enough' can also apply.
or should we just send our squad to the celebrity come dancing school before touring.
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Totally agree PBS. He's a class act and also I believe a role model for the younger players and would be a great tourist for helping the younger players to cope with a tough tour down under.
Just not good enough at test level.
Great, stylish player to watch though.
i agree his test average doesn't make good reading and i was critical of him when he was playing test after test, but imo form and confidence play a huge part in peoples abilities. you only have to look at steve harmison, only 3 years ago he was the worlds best bowler (according to them rankings). now when he bowls 2nd slip needs gloves.
Ramprakash should've been a top line batsman but had an attitude problem for a long time at Middlesex after he didnt set the world alight when he first came into the England team and that didnt sit well with the 'authorities'....
I was shocked how many tests hes actually played.
Hes one of those batters that would get hundreds against the lesser teams but would never do it against the good WIndies side or the Ozzies.
LOL DUDE
A lot of his tests were played against the Windies when they were good.
Rather like Chris Broad and Peter Willey before him he only seemed to get picked against the stronger countries and didn't get the chance to boost his average against the lesser sides.
You've make a fair point about his attitude though.
Mark wanted to bat 3 when carded at 6 and then wanted to bat 6 when asked to open.
It's nothing to do with the players he played against. He was not mentally strong enough for Test cricket. He was a bag of nerves. I was at Lords when he got is pair in '95 and in Trinidad when we were bowled out for 46. The boy was a wreck.
Very similar case to a certain Mr Hick.
At the end of the day it shows the huge gap between our first class game and the international scene. There are plenty of players in the Kent League, where my team Blackheath play, who could and indeed do or have played 1st class cricket in this country.
Look at the recent 20/20. We sent our so called specialists but they were soon shown to be way below the mark. International cricket is international cricket whether it is played over 20 overs 50 overs or 5 days.
He usually got a start though but would get himself out unaccountably when set in the twenties. I guess in that sense there may have been a mental questionmark.
Hick just seemed to freeze so temperamentally something wasn't right with him I agree.
I reckon if Ramps came back now he'd do a "David Steele" for a season or two he seems more mellow now.
Mark had plenty of chances, more than plenty. He made runs, many said he'd made it after his century in the WI on his last tour there but he could never be consistant. It's all about temprement Len.
Look at Vaughn. He made his debut for England when we were 2-4 or something against SA. The bloke oozes class.
Ramps and Hick are the only two English qualified batsmen with career averages over 50, if that doesn't explain it to you then nothing will.
Kish had his first ever shot on target in his career today BTW.... . ;-)
My daughter talked me out of having a flutter on Kish scoring so I'm mighty glad Weaver saved that shot for more reasons than one!
Vaughan is a class act and a pretty good offie too although he doesn't bowl enough.
My first test match (as a spectator of course) was Day 2 of the famous Viv Richards 292 game at The Oval in 76. I was only a wee nipper but for some reason I really remember Clive Lloyds performance more than Viv Richard's - maybe it was that huge white floppy hat he wore that has etched itself onto my mind :-)
David Steele is a very very bitter man.
He was promised a place on the tour to India nad Aus in 76/77 but didn't get it. He had served England so well in 75 and 76 and in the winter of 75/76 The MCC, as England were called then abroad, did not tour, amazing as that sounds in this day and age, A tour to SA had bee penciled in.
Read "Grovel" a book out this year about the 1976 Eng V WI series. Some great quotes from DS Steele.
Sadly I think his temperament did for him at Test level. Not only did he have the misfortune to play when Australia and the West Indies were strong, but England were weak with no semblence of team spirit. If he were coming through the ranks today he'd have been treated a lot differently and the weaknesses would have been identified and dealt with, then the attitude was if you are good enough to play for England then you don't need to be told what to do or how to play - sink or swim, and he like Hick sank and carried on scoring tons of runs at County level where there was considerably less pressure. A shame because he was one of the most naturally gifted batsman I've ever seen - up there with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards.
ramprakash 1st innings this season, 118 against a decent lancashire bowling attack
If any of the first choice batsman fail he could be a David Steele for the new millennium.
Not quite the same as Stainless because he already has test experience but a seasoned veteran holding it all together.
At least i'm consistent....
perhaps he should don some bins and bleach his hair.
Struss is under pressure as well, so I should have added him, but then KP should be batting at 3 anyway
Great hips...!
He will score 100 100's, become only the 25th player in the history of the game to do so.
He is one of only two English qualified players to average over 50 in First Class Cricket, the other is the last man to reach a centaury of centuries.
Who is that? The other perennial underachiever/bottler/flat track bully etc.....
Yes, Graham Hick.
I rest my case!!!! (See above posts, 23/09/07)
Who Struss? :-)