Surrey batsman Mark Ramprakash admits he thought long and hard over decision to end playing career Ramprakash retired with a career first-class average of 53.14, scoring 114 centuries, and was described by Alec Stewart as the finest player at domestic level of his generation. "That's non-negotiable," said Stewart as he opened the press conference yesterday. But at international level a return of only two hundreds in 52 Tests for England remains a mystery to many contemporaries who lined up yesterday to pay tribute to his talent. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said: "The best compliment I can give him is that he's the best technician the English game has had in the past 20 years Unfortunately he couldn't mentally get it right in the international game. Ramprakash himself said: "I have been asked many times in recent years about regrets. It is a word that keeps coming up. I think you do the best you can at that time. I could not have trained any harder. I did the best I could. If you know that then you don't have any regrets. I went through many ups and downs at international level. I had some success. Highlights would be playing my first Test match in 1991 and beating the West Indies and playing here in Ashes matches. The current generation of England players enjoy more consistency of selection and Ramprakash must wonder how he would have thrived in the current environment rather than the difficult 1990s when the Test side struggled. "The England structure has developed over time," he said. I was first selected in 1991 and then we had Duncan Fletcher taking over, central contracts and stuff gave so much more focus on creating a team. When you speak to guys from the 1990s there was more focus on the county. We played a Test match then went back to our county. Now there is a real togetherness about England so the structure is obviously right. What I really like about the England set up is how they welcome debutants into the side. I think the guys now feel a lot more relaxed and feel part of the team. That is a credit to the backroom staff, coaches and management of how they integrate players.