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Ramprakash vows to continue in positive mood
CricInfo - 14 August 2001

Mark Ramprakash has vowed to continue playing in his natural, attacking manner – despite the criticism he received after his dismissal against Shane Warne in the second innings at Trent Bridge.

Ramprakash was stumped by Adam Gilchrist as he came down the pitch to hit Warne over the top in the second innings. The manner of his dismissal, and its timing, coming as England battled to save the game and not long from the close of day two, provoked a furious reaction from some sections of the media.

But Ramprakash defended his positive intentions, and reiterated his desire to carry his county style of play into the Test arena.

"I wasn't happy with the execution of the shot at Trent Bridge, I didn't get close enough to the pitch of the ball and I was disappointed with that but I'm happy with the thinking behind it," explained Ramprakash.

"I was looking to play my natural game, the seam bowlers were bowling very well at one end and I felt confident enough to try and attack the spinner."

The barrage of criticism that Ramprakash has been subjected to since his dismissal in the Third Test is ironic considering that, in the past, he has been criticized for his caution at Test level.

"Throughout my Test career I've been accused of not playing my shots, but this year I'm happy with the way I'm approaching the game and I will be looking to take the attacking option when I can - even if that means going down the pitch to Shane Warne," Ramprakash said.

"At the start of the summer both Ian Botham and Graham Gooch said England should try and attack Australia wherever possible and I think that's the right way to go."

Ramprakash also expressed concern at the effect the level of criticism he had been subjected to would have on young players.

"It's a shame about the negative reaction," he said. "We want young players growing up in England to come up and play aggressively and play their shots – we want them to go out and express themselves.

"As a player you always have to be honest with yourself and accept when you've done something wrong, which is what I've done, but the general way of thinking should be to encourage players to go out and play their natural games.

"It's something in the past that has concerned me. It's almost as if in England we'd rather a batsman get out playing a forward defensive shot than trying to take the attack to the opposition.

"When you play for England you know there's a lot of media attention on you and you know that everything you do is going to be under the spotlight.

"As a player you have to come to a decision that if you're going out to play for England the best thing is to play your natural way. When you go out on the pitch you have to be certain in your own mind what you're going to try and do.

"I realise it was a shot that didn't come off, but I know how to play the shot and if I think the shot is on then I will have to weigh it up when I'm out there."

The Surrey man conceded that with Thorpe and Vaughan likely to return to the England side for The Oval Test, his place could be in jeopardy. So a good performance in Leeds is crucial.

"I realise that Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan have been playing really well for England over the last 18 months and I could be one of the guys left out for the Oval," he admitted.

"For me, it's a question of looking to play hard in this match and go on from there. I'm taking this as a one-off and we'll see what happens after that."

© CricInfo


Teams England.
Players/Umpires Mark Ramprakash, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan.
Tours Australia in England
Season English Domestic Season


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