Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ravin Ramprakash is a former English cricketer who played first class cricket for Surrey and internationally for England. He is a right handed batsman who hails from Bushey, Hertfordshire. He is born to an English father and an English mother. While growing up, Ramprakash attended the Harrow Weald Sixth Form College.

Ramprakash made his first class debut in 1987 when he was selected to play for Middlesex county cricket club at the age of 17. He made notable contributions to his club and was selected as a captain for the England U-19 team. He earned nation-wide admiration when he won the Man of the Match award for the NatWest Trophy final match in 1988. He headed for test matches in 1991 when he was allowed to debut at the series against West Indies.

In 1993, Ramprakash was part of the Ashes series which the Australians won by 4-1, but his considerable 64 helped the team win their final test against opponents. He was not able to maintain his performance on-field and was repeatedly dropped from the test squad. He kept coming in and out of the England team on numerous occasions but remained permanently for the Middlesex team.

In 2001, he broke his ties with the Middlesex club and joined Surrey country cricket club, their arch rivals. Ramprakash improved heavily in his performance and in 2003, he was the first player to have scored a hundred against all the other 18 teams, including former team Middlesex. Ramprakash had played 52 tests and 18 one day internationals in total. His batting averages for test matches are 27.32 and for ODIs is 28.85. He has also played 426 first class matches and 398 List A matches with averages of 54.32 and 40.08 respectively. He has scored 108 centuries and 139 half-centuries in his first class cricket career.

He participated along with Karen Hardy, a professional Ballroom dancer and instructor, in the BBC tele-serial Strictly Come Dancing and both were crowned the dancing champions.

Career Highlights

He was named the PCA (Professional Cricketers' Association) Player of the Year in 2006.

He was awarded the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2007.