ECB Coaches Association links Coaching Insight 2019 | Page 22

20 Ramped Up RAMPED UP After a year in which he added an England Lions role to his existing duties, Mark Ramprakash reflects on his own coaching development. S urprisingly, for a man who seems as comfortable now with a mitt and a sidearm as he did out in the middle for Middlesex, Surrey and England, Mark Ramprakash took a while to warm to the idea of becoming a coach. “I wasn’t sure whether I’d go into coaching because I didn’t want to do it for the wrong reasons,” concedes the man with 114 First Class centuries to his name. Having retired in July 2012, it took until December of that year to figure out that it was the right fit, agreeing to become Middlesex’s new batting coach. He’s not looked back. “I wasn’t sure how it would be but it’s worked out really well, I’ve found it really rewarding. “As a player I think I had quite a tunnel vision and didn’t see much of the big picture or think about how the coaches operated, and the things that they had to juggle and manage.