County pre-season open days are occasions for optimism. The talk is of runs to be scored, wickets to be taken, trophies to be won. Ruinous injuries go unforeseen, match-turning mistakes unanticipated. If anyone has cause for optimism at the start of this season, it should be Mark Ramprakash. Uniquely, he averaged 100 in each of the past two seasons and stands just three short of a century of centuries (if the past two summers are anything to go by, he’ll be there by mid-May). England’s Test batsmen endured a shaky winter and deserve to feel the breath of Owais Shah, Rob Key and Ramprakash on their collars.

Yet, for all that, Ramprakash spoke for more than half an hour at Surrey’s open day at The Oval last week and did not raise the topic of an England recall. His motivations for the season, he said, were reaching his 100th hundred, helping Surrey win the LV County Championship and enjoying a fruitful testimonial season. When the conversation turned to spin bowling, he had a dart at one of the England selectors, Ashley Giles, saying he had no time for “someone who bowled over the wicket, 3ft down the leg side”. That should keep his name out of the first selection meeting.

It seems, then, that Ramprakash, who turned down a request from the selectors during the winter to remain on standby should a senior batsman be injured, is resigned to not playing for his country again. The next time he appears in an all-star XI is likely to be for a franchise in the Indian Premier League. He admitted he had also received approaches from the rebel Indian Cricket League.

“I have had one or two people from both leagues asking if I was interested,” he said. “It was a fairly simple, ‘Well, not right now. I’m in my testimonial year and focusing on Surrey. But if there is a tournament in November, or some other time in the future, of course I’d be interested’. Anyone would be.”

He conceded that the Twenty20 leagues had been a topic of pre-season conversation among players. “Having said that, there’s only certain cricketers being approached, either aspiring internationals or those who have played at international level.” How many did he think had been sounded out? “Maybe 20 to 30.”

Can he see a time when he would finish with Surrey (to whom he is contracted until the end of 2009) and go to play in India? “Well, yes. It’s only sensible that I keep my options open. England cricketers should be interested in what’s going on in India. India contribute greatly to the game’s income and India is where it is happening.

“The ECB should want to be represented there, and I don’t think it’s helpful to have comments made [by ECB officials] which leave no room for manoeuvre. I appreciate the ECB want to safeguard the England side, but there must be a way all parties can feel reasonably happy and that’s only done through talking, not through making statements which alienate people. People are going to have to be flexible because India, and the money, are here to stay.”

In the first Twenty20 season, Ramprakash hated the format. He batted in the lower middle order and struggled to keep up with the pace of the game. Things changed only when he started to bat higher. Since then, he has been among the most successful Twenty20 batsmen in the country.

Four-day cricket, it is clear, remains his first love, and whether he’s involved or not, he doesn’t want Test cricket to pay the price for the rise of international Twenty20. Nor is he convinced that the domestic Twenty20 Cup needs to be revamped just because of what is happening in India. “Our Twenty20 product is excellent,” he said. “At The Oval we have 23,000 sell-outs each game, good pitches and good entertainment. Right now, it is going along nicely. I don’t know that we have to bring in more overseas players. If it was a question of signing Brett Lee and Mahendra Dhoni, okay. But I don’t think it will be players of their calibre. So let’s stay as we are.”

Ramprakash’s immediate thoughts concern the county championship. Surrey, who came fourth in 2007 after battling against relegation, face the three teams that finished above them in their opening three games, so they are going to have to hit the ground running, especially their batsmen. Andrew Flintoff lies in wait this week and Steve Harmison next, both with points to prove.

Can he average 100 for a third time? “I seriously doubt it. Lightning won’t strike three times,” he said. “I’m really proud of the past couple of seasons, but our practice games have shown me what I must concentrate on now. If your focus is even slightly off, this game will punish you. I have faced nobody in particular in our warm-ups but have not got many runs. I’ve got out to academy bowlers a couple of times. Maybe that will be a good wake-up call. We’ve got a tough start against some good sides, with good bowlers, in early-season conditions. Right now, 100 hundreds looks a long way off.”

Guilty in his early days of putting himself under too much pressure, Ramprakash said he had spent some of the winter dwelling on the prospect of becoming the 25th batsman (and the first since Graeme Hick in 1998) to score 100 centuries. Otherwise, he is preparing for his testimonial, playing and watching football and making a guest appearance on the Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing, the show that turned him into a star.

He also did some TV punditry on England’s overseas tours. It would be undignified for him to pass verdict on England’s batting — although it might be observed that had he averaged 28.2 from six Tests, as Michael Vaughan did, his place would now be considered under threat — but he was willing to speak out against the treatment of Monty Panesar: “I really felt for Monty. Everyone had an opinion about how he should bowl. He’s got a fine record, yet a lot of negative stuff was written and said about him. Okay, he’s not the finished article, but he’s very good and contributes more to the team than many people realise. Who is there in that England camp who he can talk to about spin bowling? Who can he turn to who has bowled in Test matches under pressure?”

I suggested that only Giles and Phil Tufnell possessed recent experience. Cue his barb on Giles. “I’d have to put those two in different brackets. Tuffers was a top spinner who won matches for England. I’m not a fan of someone who bowled over the wicket, 3ft down the leg side.

“Young spinners need a lot of support and patience. It is hard for them to keep the belief. They need to be strong. Spin is so difficult these days with big bats and short boundaries. Batsmen have really improved their play against spin. A young spinner needs to be quite special. He needs hard work, good control, drift, dip and spin — and a positive environment.”

Wisdom of Wisden

Published last week, the new Wisden (£40, John Wisden) features essays by Andrew Strauss on Duncan Fletcher and Mike Atherton on Brian Lara, and also Sunday Times cartoonist Nick Newman’s take on the controversial history of cricket cartoons