Mark Ramprakash labels Bangladesh as improving side

Mark Ramprakash takes a firm stand on controversy surrounding England‘s tour of Bangladesh starting October 7. Ramprakash has managed to stay out of controversy in his career, he talks at length about questions surrounding Bangladesh tour. Although, he resorts to almost one syllable answers when asked about decision of players making themselves available for the tour. The 47-year-old feels that there are no security threats in India as their government have assured them and clarifies that he is not worried about touring along the team as batting coach to Bangladesh. But, he respects England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and opener Alex Hales who ahve decided to opt out of the tour. He has had consent from England’s reputed security consultant— Reg Dickason. ALSO READ: Courtney Walsh surprised at Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales’ pull out of Bangladesh tour

Ramprakash feels Bangladesh have improved significantly, he told The Guardian, “Bangladesh are improving all the time even though they haven’t played much Test cricket – and this is why it’s so important to fulfill our commitment to tour. Bangladesh needs Test cricket and we should help them as much as we can. Andrew Strauss [England’s director of cricket] has spoken about the need to give a shot in the arm to the Test game and I believe we must develop it as much as we can. Bangladesh have good cricketers. They deservedly beat England in the World Cup last year so we know they are a very good one-day side. But lots of their cricketers have spoken about their desire to develop as Test players. We should welcome that and support Bangladesh” ALSO READ: Barmy Army decide not to travel for England’s tour of Bangladesh

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Ramprakash also talked about Morgan losing his captaincy after his decision along with Hales losing his place in Test side, he said, “It’s up to them. The official line is that everyone is allowed to make their own decision.” The English batting coach suffered a similar problem when there were security concerns on England’s tour of India in 2011 after 9/11 attacks. Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft decided to make themselves unavailable for the tour. Ramprakash elaborated on his decision in 2001 as he said, “Again, I felt it was the right thing to do. I wanted to go. There were no problems. It was a good tour even if it wasn’t particularly memorable in terms of entertaining cricket.” ALSO READ: Ian Bell hopes for England Berth for India, Bangladesh tours

Ramprakash was unlucky when it came to international circuit. He has played 52 Tests and 18 ODIs scoring 2,350 and 376 runs in formats respectively. Though, his international career stats cannot justify the talent he possessed. Ramprakash has 114 First-Class centuries under his name.

He also talked about the ultimate challenge Test cricket is facing with T20 gaining popoluarity with each passing day, he said, “I don’t know. I hope so. Test cricket is still the ultimate test and we have wonderful matches. The Pakistan series was great, entertaining cricket.” He also talked about the two-tier system, “I would prefer not to go down that two-tier format. I haven’t thought about it in detail but it’s really important to encourage other nations. Ireland, for example. If we could foster Test cricketers in more countries it can only be a good thing.”

The squads for Bangladesh tour are to be announced this Friday. He talks about Alex Hales’ performance against Pakistan in home series and his decision to withdraw form upcoming tour. He said, “He’s thought long and hard about his game. “Alex played extremely well against Sri Lanka. He got 86 and 94 at Headingley and Lord’s and showed he can build an innings at Test level – and it was a surprise when he got out. I remember how well he was doing at Headingley when the ball was moving around appreciably. He batted time, he left well, he did all the things a traditional Test opener would do.”

He further elaborated on the matter, “Of course, Pakistan were a different proposition. Mohammad Amir with the new ball was a real challenge. While he got a half-century at Edgbaston he didn’t get the runs he was hoping to. But opening the batting in Test cricket is tough and it’s especially tough when you’re also opening in one-day and T20 cricket. I’ve seen enough to suggest Hales can develop into a very good Test opener – but it’s up to the selectors whether they persist in investing in him,”

“I’ve seen quite a lot of him. I first saw him when he was 16 and hugely impressive. He recently came to the [Pakistan] Test match at Old Trafford and he had a 40-minute bat in the lunch break. We also had a good chat. He’s got very good technique, excellent temperament and an ability to bat for long periods of time. He plays the ball late and his results this year show that he’s careful about his shot selection,”

“He’s very impressive – not just as a player but as a young man. He’s coped admirably with opening in Division One and he’s a leading contender with Keaton Jennings, Nick Gubbins and Sam Robson. Those four are at the head of the queue,”

He also shared his thoughts on James Vince’s performance in recent series, he said,  “Vince is very good at putting a bad ball away for four. But he is still learning to construct his innings and turn those starts into big scores. He was on 35 (against Sri Lanka) in Durham, playing well, and it was a big surprise when he got out. Same thing at Edgbaston in the second innings (against Pakistan). He tried to adapt his game as the team needed him to bat time and he did that well. He got 42 and it was again a surprise when he got out. He’s very talented but in the longer form you need a lot of care about when you attack and when you leave or defend.”

He also backed England’s team manager and former skipper Andrew Strauss, he said, “No. Andrew Strauss looked at the schedule and it was his suggestion. It’s pretty brutal in terms of time away and right now it gives me breathing space. I will go to Bangladesh on October 8 and then return from India on December 22. The One-day team arrive in Bangladesh 10 days before me and then they have ODIs in India and then the Caribbean. Instead, I’ve been asked to do the England U-19 trip to India. So I will go back to India for four weeks in late January.”

When asked about whether he would be happy to take up the job of head coach in all formats, he said,  “It definitely does appeal to me. Over the last four years I’ve gained a lot of experience and I’d like to gravitate towards that head coach position. I’m really enjoying my current role but, as a person, having new experiences is healthy. That’s another reason why I’m always open to travelling to Bangladesh and India.”

He also shared his experience in India during Indian Premier League (IPL) this year and whether he would like to go again on the upcoming tour, he said, “I pushed to do it. The last thing I want is to be pigeon-holed. I’m helping out with the Tests at the moment but I want to be proactive in learning new aspects of limited-over cricket. I went to India for eight days, to Kolkata and Mumbai. I watched three games and spoke to the coaches which was great experience. At Kolkata, the coaches were Wasim Akram, Simon Katich and Jacques Kallis. At Mumbai, it was Ricky Ponting and Jonty Rhodes. It was an amazing mix and I learnt a lot that translates into my coaching here.”