Mark Ramprakash has lost his job as the England batting coach and is expected to be replaced by Graham Thorpe before this summer’s Ashes series against Australia.
Ramprakash has paid the price for the Test team’s poor batting, with their dismissal for 77 by West Indies in the opening match of the recent series defeat in the Caribbean appearing to be the final straw for Ashley Giles, England’s new director of cricket.
The former England batsman, who played 52 Tests, revealed he had been relieved of his job on Twitter, saying: “I’ve just been informed that I will not be involved in the Ashes series. It’s been a huge privilege to support the team over the last 5 years. I’d like to wish all the staff & players the very best of luck for the future.”
England officially confirmed the news shortly afterwards. A spokesman said: “Mark Ramprakash will not be part of the coaching set-up for the Ashes. We will finalise the coaching set in the next couple of weeks.”
Thorpe, another former international who in his current role as lead batting coach is responsible for England’s white-ball teams, is the favourite to replace Ramprakash.
The 49-year-old is currently with England in the Caribbean during their ongoing T20 series against West Indies. Thorpe, alongside Paul Collingwood and Chris Silverwood, was recently named by Giles as one of three assistants who will work under the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, during this summer’s World Cup. That follows the departure of Paul Farbrace, current number two to Bayliss, at the end of this tour.
Tom Curran, meanwhile, has not given up hope of playing alongside Sam, the younger of his brothers, in England’s Test team but admits this year’s Ashes will probably come too soon. Both Currans are in England’s T20 squad in the Caribbean. However, their international careers have taken different paths, with 23-year-old Tom now a regular in England’s white-ball squads and 20-year-old Sam a fixture in the Test set-up following a breakthrough series against India last year.
Tom is in line to play in the World Cup. Yet his Test ambitions remain distant after struggling to catch the selectors’ eyes since playing in the final two matches of England’s 4-0 Ashes series hammering in Australia in 2017-18.
Asked whether he thought there would be only one Curran playing in each of this summer’s two biggest events, Tom said: “It’s looking like that right now. I’ve had a small taste of Test cricket but I don’t see myself as just a white-ball player. Sam, I’m sure, doesn’t see himself as just a red-ball player. We’re both working hard and the dream scenario would be playing all three formats together.”