Middlesex batting coach Mark Ramprakash keen to teach batsmen error of his ways as a player He has quickly perfected the art, preferring to "bowl" rather than throw the ball - making it more realistic - serving up an assortment of tricky deliveries for Middlesex's top order, some designed to replicate the extra bounce of Surrey's Chris Tremlett, others the seam of Jade Dernbach or swing of Jon Lewis. While giving each of the batsmen a decent workout, he was anxious not to make the examination too searching given they were in the middle of the match. After a somewhat turbulent career he is more aware than most that the most important ingredients a batsman needs to take into a game are confidence and composure. They were commodities that, despite his rich talent, he often lacked. His batting against me in the nets that day encapsulated his early years, featuring a sequence of studious, articulate innings punctuated by outrageous, occasionally outlandish behaviour which often undermined them. He would sometimes lose his composure with a wild stroke or an unexpected outburst for which he earned the nickname "Bloodaxe." It betrayed an unhealthy level of intensity and an instability that, at the top, frequently let him down. He admitted on Monday that his self-belief was often suspect. "Early in my career I'd work hard in a Test match to get to 30 or 40 but then I'd get out," he said. I wasn't confident of my place in the side and I didn't believe I had the ability to make big scores at that level. There was so much going on in my head I couldn't really produce my natural game. He partly conquered his demons in a productive spell between 1997 and 2001 during which he made two Test hundreds, but still couldn't find a settled place in the batting order and was finally discarded in 2002. It was after that, and his move to Surrey, that a change in mindset brought about a third phase in his career, featuring a phenomenal output of 57 first-class centuries in nine years, taking him past the coveted 100 hundreds. He could be the last man to achieve this. "I understood my game better, I was calmer at the crease, much more ruthless," he continued. I said to myself I want to play the innings of the day, not the best shot of the day. I was disappointed in my Test record and for Surrey I wanted to play innings that allowed my team the chance to control the match. It is this philosophy that he is keen to pass on to the next generation. He wants to help a collection of gifted batsmen do justice to their talent and acquire the desire and application to make really big scores. But the advice has to be tailored to the individual. At Middlesex, one young batsman knows his own game pretty well, he's 100 per cent focused, he just needs to relax and let his game flow. I don't say that much to him," he continued. Another is quite introverted, has natural ability but frets a lot. I just say to him: "Don't worry, you can't hit everything in the middle all the time, but you are good enough to be here." Another is sometimes a bit too relaxed and needs to be sharpened up in the morning to be ready for the battle. I might bounce him early in the nets to wake him up. There is an infectious enthusiasm to Ramprakash the batting coach last visible in his dynamic stint on Strictly Come Dancing. Unburdened by the pressure of expectation he is more likely to thrive. It was not a coincidence that on Saturday, after his latest session with Middlesex, the openers put on 269 and the team finally totalled 514 against Surrey. A keen observer of method and body language, he relishes the opportunity to steer young batsmen away from the traps he fell in to. His knowledge, his open-minded approach and the considerable respect he enjoys within the game could make a supreme cricketer an even more supreme coach.