History beckons for Ramprakash

13 May 2008

Mark Ramprakash is on the verge of joining a select group of great batsmen

Surrey meet Hampshire with the prospect of Mark Ramprakash becoming only the 25th man to score a hundred hundreds in first-class cricket.

If the former England batsman achieves the feat, he will be the first man since Graeme Hick reached the milestone for Worcestershire in 1998, and the 21st Englishman.

Surrey travel to the Rose Bowl for the LV County Championship Division One encounter without Chris Schofield, who is recovering from a broken thumb.

The injury to the former England leg-spinner means that Murtaza Hussain is named in Surrey’s 13-man squad as back-up to fellow off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

Jimmy Ormond and Jade Dernbach could be vying for the final fast bowler’s spot, four days after Dernbach was hit for 107 off 10 overs by Essex in the Friends Provident Trophy defeat at the Brit Oval.

Tom Burrows takes the gloves for Hampshire after Nic Pothas was sidelined by a calf injury.

Hampshire have entrusted the 23-year-old behind the stumps instead of opening batsman Michael Brown, who deputised in the Friends Provident Trophy defeat by Worcestershire at the weekend.

Dimitri Mascarenhas returns after IPL duty to take the reins at Hampshire © Getty Images

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Burrows last appeared in four-day cricket in a draw with Kent in May 2007, when he scored 35 and held four catches.

Dimitri Mascarenhas comes back to skipper his county after his Indian Premier League stint.

Michael Carberry suffered from cramps on home turf playing for England Lions, but he has recovered and returns to county duty along with Chris Tremlett.

Tremlett is expected to open the bowling with James Tomlinson, who took a career-best 8-46 in Somerset's first innings last week. David Griffiths is dropped.

Chris Benham comes in to the top order with lynchpin John Crawley missing due to a side problem.

Though they dismissed a strong Somerset batting line-up for just 126 on the first day at Taunton, Hampshire’s pace attack is still weakened by the absence of Shane Bond (calf) and David Balcombe (side strain).

Schoolboy Hamza Riazuddin did not disgrace himself on championship debut, but he returns to Bradfield College.

Director of cricket Tim Tremlett told ecb.co.uk: "The value of a left-armer is shown by Ryan Sidebottom for England, and James Tomlinson could provide something similar for us.

"He's starting to show more consistency and to take his first match 10-for at Taunton is a good launching pad for the rest of the season."