MARK Ramprakash and Andrew Strauss are two men to produce their best cricket beyond the age of 30.
Now Middlesex new boy Scott Newman, who reached the milestone on Tuesday, is determined to join such exalted company during his time at Lord’s.
The former Surrey opener put pen to paper on a deal to cross the Thames last week, after being told by Surrey Director of Cricket Chris Adams he was surplus to requirements south of the river.
However, Newman claims his former team-mate Ramprakash and England captain Strauss are clear illustrations batsmen get better beyond 30, and far from being past his sell by date, Middlesex fans will see the best of him.
He said: "I believe my best years are still ahead of me. Even someone successful like Mark Ramprakash improved with age, and Andrew Strauss has just had the best season of his career at 32.
"As you get older as a batsman you can iron out the mistakes you make as a youngster."
On paper it looks a big ask for the father of three, who endured the worst season of his career in 2009.
The campaign saw Newman struggle on being farmed out on loan to Notts after Chris Adams made clear he wasn’t part of his vision for the future at the Oval.
The left-hander averaged under 25 for the season, a far cry from the heady days of 2006 when two centuries and 10 50s saw him rack up over 1400 runs at a fraction over 50.
However, Newman insists the end of his nomadic existence will see an upturn in his fortunes.
He added: "I felt the best I’d ever felt at the beginning of last year but going out on loan is a difficult process, more difficult than I thought it would be.
"You have to deal with rejection by your parent club and pick yourself up from that.
"I didn’t ever envisage leaving Surrey and I didn’t have too much choice in having to leave. They had a plan for their future which didn’t have me in mind.
"But Middlesex were one of the first counties I had in mind to join and they wanted me.
"And I’m now looking forward to taking on the role of one of the senior batsman. I’ve always seen myself as someone who should be able to be relied upon."
