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Former England batsman and one of the most prolific scorers in English county cricket, Mark Ramprakash, is all set to retire from first-class cricket on Thursday. The 42-year-old Surrey batsman, who may well be the last player to score 100 first-class centuries, has decided to bow out after 25 seasons of county cricket. The announcement has been timed for Thursday to avoid it coinciding with the funeral of Ramprakash's team-mate, Tom Maynard, which takes place in Cardiff today. It is believed Ramprakash made his decision to retire after Surrey indicated that his contract, which expires at the end of this season, was unlikely to be renewed, The Telegraph reports. Ramprakash will end his career with 114 first-class centuries to his name, the 100th coming against Yorkshire at Headingley in 2008. He has scored 35,659 runs in 461 first-class matches since he first played for Middlesex in 1987 and a further 13,273 runs in one-day cricket. Ramprakash played 52 Tests for England between 1991 and 2002 without achieving the same levels of consistency he enjoyed at county level. He averaged 27.32 in Test cricket as opposed to 53.14 in county cricket with two centuries, 133 against Australia at the Oval in 2001 and a Test best 154 against the West Indies in Bridgetown in 1997-98.

Ramprakash to quit first-class cricket after 25 years