Some might think that Mark Ramprakash's time as an England player has passed him by. On the outside as England completed their fourth consecutive series victory in Sri Lanka and overlooked for a central contract as the selectors pursue the policy of consistency of selection, it certainly looks to be a hard road back for the Surrey batsman.

Ramprakash - England hopes Photo CricInfo

Ramprakash is not so sure however. "If you look at the England batting line-up they have not scored all that many runs," he argued. "The reason England have done well is because the lower order have chipped in and made the side harder to bowl out as a whole. But the top six have not scored a great volume of runs from anyone in the winter or the summer series so I feel all the places are up for grabs."

However, Ramprakash insists that his first priority will be to his new club, Surrey. He is relishing the opportunity to play in a side that will be contenders for all competitions after a few years in the doldrums at Middlesex.

"My first and only priority is to get established in the Surrey side," he said. "I have come here from a side that was 17th out of 18 for two years in a row and it was in about November last year that I felt I had to leave Middlesex.

"About two months before, I had said to the committee that I thought the club should sign some real quality players to help the younger guys that are coming through. That didn't happen, and you must know that everyone in the team, from the committee to the captain to the players, are all pulling in the same direction. I did not feel that was the case at Middlesex."

Clearly a little bit of rancour lingers between Ramprakash and his old club. His journey south of the river when he had a year of his contract to run and straight after a lucrative benefit season provoked a few wry comments from former team-mates.

"I have to say that all that has been surprising," Ramprakash admitted. "I don't know why some of the comments have been made and all I can say is that it is a shame. I feel that Justin Langer, Mike Gatting and myself all tried our hardest to make it work at Middlesex, but there is only so much you can do if you are not all singing from the same hymn sheet."

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