91Èȱ¬

Former England and Surrey captain Alec Stewart has paid tribute to Mark Ramprakash after the batsman announced his retirement from cricket.

Ramprakash scored 35,659 first-class runs and 114 centuries during his 25-year career.

Stewart told 91Èȱ¬ London 94.9: "I think it's a day to celebrate what a wonderful career he's had. His stats don't lie.

"He's been the best domestic cricketer of the last 15 to 20 years."

He added: "Graham Gooch was the stand-out when I first started playing.

"As a domestic cricketer, I can't believe there have been many better than Mark."

Surrey coach Chris Adams described Ramprakash as "an inspiration" to a generation of cricketers.

"He has been immense and has unbelievable statistics which speak for themselves," Adams told the 91Èȱ¬.

"He's been the batsman of my era. Yes he scored a lot of runs, but there was an aesthetic pleasingness about how he set himself up.

"He looked so beautifully, technically sound.

"It allowed him to deal with moments of pressure and handle difficult situations.

"You can't replace players like that. He will be sorely missed as a batsman, person and character within the dressing room.

"I think Mark will continue to be an inspiration.

"He still has an enormous amount to offer the game of cricket.

"He will put back into the game a lot of the things he has taken from it in the last 25 years."