LONDON: Unfulfilled as a player on the international stage, Mark Ramprakash will now look to make a difference with England's national team as a coach.
Ramprakash was hired as England's batting coach on Thursday and will work across all formats starting with the one-day series against Sri Lanka this month.
The 45-year-old Ramprakash was one of English cricket's most stylish and talented batsmen of his generation, hitting 114 centuries in 461 matches in a 25-year first-class career with Middlesex and Surrey that ended in 2012.
He failed to transfer his county form to England, though. His brilliant technique was regularly ruffled by pace, he drifted in and out of selection under different coaches and an average of 27.32 in 52 tests over 11 years did not do justice to his ability.
The affable Ramprakash has made a seamless transition into coaching, initially with the second-string England Lions team and then in a temporary role as batting coach for the senior side since May following the resignation of Graham Gooch.
"I will draw on my 25 years of experience as a cricketer but also am open to learning all the time," Ramprakash said in an England release announcing his appointment. "I feel we have a very exciting group of players and am relishing the opportunity to continue working with them."
The greatest achievement in his career came in 2006, when he averaged more than 100 with Surrey and scored 2,278 runs. To top off that year, he won the BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing — the second English cricketer to do so after former international teammate Darren Gough.