OWN CORRESPONDENT, East London | Tuesday 8.30pm.
MARK Ramprakash has been called up for England’s tour to South Africa as cover for injured batsman Michael Vaughan.
The Middlesex captain was chosen ahead of official stand-by batsmen Nick Knight and Graeme Hick and will fly out to join the rest of the 17-man party in Durban on Wednesday night.
Ramprakash will stay with the party as cover until Vaughan, who suffered a bruised right index finger batting against a combined Eastern Province/Border XI on Sunday, makes a full recovery.
He was chosen after discussions between captain Nasser Hussain, coach Duncan Fletcher and chairman of selectors David Graveney, having been controversially overlooked for the initial tour party.
Ramprakash, who played 18 consecutive Tests before his de-selection for the winter tour, was thought to be out of the reckoning after twice attacking the selectors for his omission and claiming he was ”a scapegoat”.
On Tuesday, the rain-hit tour match against the Combination XI was called off after rain prevented the players from taking the field by mid-afternoon. — The Guardian