Simon Katich and Mark Ramprakash - Reflecting on Cricket’s high-profile retirements in 2012 - Part 2 - Opinion
Simon Katich:
Ever since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SM-Katich-c2543 has hung his gloves, Australia has struggled to find a batsman of his quality to fill the opening slot. Katich was a batsman with high morals and made his way up through the ranks with sheer hard work and determination, and while
his career should have ended on a high note, the debate over his departure as an international cricketer will linger on.
He was one of those batsmen who could be recognised from a distance, in addition to his flowing cover drives, his unique crab-crawl stance was his trademark once he occupied the crease. After making his first-class debut for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865 in 1996 and
playing a central role in helping his state side to win the Sheffield Trophy, it took him five years to get an international call up.
His first appearance came in the Headingley Test during the 2001 Ashes series, where he failed to capitalise on the opportunity. He then waited for another three years before being included in the 2005 Ashes team, averaging 27.55 in the five Test matches.
He was consequently dropped and it looked that his career would end at this point but Katich roared back to form following an impressive streak in domestic cricket, and became a permanent feature in the Test side, where he struck six centuries in 16 matches
in 2008-09, averaging 50.
The purple patch however, didn’t last long and in a couple of years, the 36-year-old batsmen fell out of favour with the selectors after criticizing them in public. Disappointed by his constant exclusion from the national squad, the left-hander finally retired
from international and Australian domestic cricket in June. Katich expressed his resentment on the way he was treated and didn’t mince his words while talking about the unfair treatment he and some of the other Australian players have suffered.
"This is not just about me, it is about a number of players who have felt aggrieved at the way they have been treated by the selectors in particular and not just the selectors, but by Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 because there's people above the selectors who make
decisions on their futures and also the players' futures because they ratify the decisions that are made.”
In his 56 tests for Australia, he scored 4188 (at 45.03) and 1324 (35.78) runs in 45 ODIs.
Mark Ramprakash:
Despite being one the most gifted players of his generation, few would have an unfulfilled international career as Mark Ramprakash had. A meteoric rise that ended in a whimper, Ramprakash was a star in county cricket when he was only 17. He led the Under-19
side and had all the credentials to make it big at the international level.
Known for being one of the most technically sound batsman in the modern-era, the Surrey player is among the elite group of only 25 cricketers in the history of the game, who have scored hundred or more first-class centuries. It was his prolific run scoring
in the county circuit that allowed him to have five stints with the English national side over a time span of eleven years.
After making his debut, against the fearsome West Indian attack including the likes http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Balfour-Patrick-Patterson-c47222, he left a positive impression with his resilient 27 in each innings. In 1992, he was however, dropped
after several batting failures, but continued his successful run in county cricket and was again recalled in a dead rubber during the 1993 Ashes series and scored his maiden Test half-century.
He made similar comebacks in 1997, 1999 and 2000 before his final appearance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Surrey-c851 and reached the land-mark of hundred first-class centuries in 2008.
2012, however, turned out be a disappointing season, where he was dropped by Surrey, with the county club clear in their intentions of looking for the future, finally bringing the curtains down on a stupendous 25-year career.
The right-handed batsman played in 52 Tests for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 and scored 2350 runs at an average of 27.32 - In 18 ODIs he scored 376 runs (at 26.85). In his 461 first-class matches he scored 35659 runs at brilliant average of 53.14, including 114 centuries.
Columnist Jim White, in his column in the Daily Telegraph, paid tribute to Ramprakash in the following words.
"Mark Ramprakash: A champion of elegance in helmet and pads ... with him will pass into history one of the most beautiful and stylish sights ever seen on a sporting field: Ramprakash taking a long pace forward out of the crease and driving a cricket ball
boundary-ward ..."
To be continued....
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