Mark Ramprakash gets England batting coach job

Former England, Middlesex and Surrey batsman Mark Ramprakash has been appointed as the national team's new batting coach, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday.

Ramprakash, 45, replaces ex-England opener Graham Gooch, who was axed earlier this year.

Ramprakash emerged as the standout candidate after it became clear that Graham Thorpe, who is highly valued at the ECB and previously worked as limited-overs batting coach under Ashley Giles, was reluctant to commit to England's gruelling tour commitments, reports Sport24.

Ramprakash had previously worked with squad members at the National Performance Centre Loughborough and had already accepted an offer to travel with the England side for this month's one-day international tour of Sri Lanka.

That trip will now mark his first series on head coach Peter Moores's permanent backroom team.

ECB managing director Paul Downton said that Ramprakash had been a valuable addition to the coaching group, and had formed an excellent relationship with the players and a strong partnership with Head Coach Peter Moores and the management team.

Ramprakash said he was hugely excited to have been appointed England batting coach and was looking forward to building on the relationships that he had established during the summer. He said he would draw on his 25 years of experience as a cricketer.

Ramprakash is renowned as one of the very best to have appeared in domestic cricket in England, notching up 114 first-class centuries before his retirement at the age of 42.

But his international performances never carried the same authority, with just two centuries in his 52 Tests and a solitary 50 in 18 ODIs.

That record has not stopped him acquiring a strong reputation as a coach.