Mark Ramprakash likely to quit first-class cricket

Mark Ramprakash, the former England middle-order batsman, is likely to anounce his retirement from first-class cricket on Thursday. This, after Surrey, Ramprakash's county side, said he would be 'making a statement about his future' at The Oval.

The statement from Surrey, issued on Wednesday, read: 'Surrey County Cricket Club will be hosting a press conference with Mark Ramprakash on Thursday 5th July at the Kia Oval, where Mark would like to make a statement about his future.'

Ramprakash, a prolific run scorer at the first-class level, was never able to transfer his domestic form to the international stage, scoring just two hundreds in 52 Tests.

It has been a different story during a 25-year first-class career that started at Middlesex before he moved across London to Surrey 11 years ago. Ramprakash has scored 35,659 runs in 461 first-class matches since his county debut in 1987, and more than 13,000 in limited-overs cricket. At the county level, he topped 1000 runs in 20 separate seasons and thrice made more than 2000 - in 1995, 2006 and 2007. His highest-first class score is an unbeaten 301, scored for Surrey against Northamptonshire, at The Oval in 2006.

Widely considered as possibly the last man in cricket history to make 100 first-class hundreds due to the reduction in domestic fixtures, Ramprakash was dropped by Surrey for the first time earlier this season as he struggled for runs.

As was the case with Graeme Hick, his England teammate for a while, Ramprakash endured a frustrating international career, averaging a modest 27.32 in Tests - barely half his county return. Ramprakash also played in 18 One-Day Internationals.