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Matt Prior aims to rise from Ashes debacle

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Matt Prior intends to use his Ashes agony as tinder to reignite his international career as he plots a swift path back into the England set-up.

Published: Thu 20 Mar 2014, 9:54 AM

Updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 9:18 PM

  • By
  • Alex Leach (alex@khaleejtimes.com)

The Sussex wicketkeeper was dropped for the fourth Test Down Under with Andy Flower’s tourists then trailing 3-0 in a traumatic series that went on to become an embarrassing 5-0 whitewash overall.

Jonny Bairstow replaced Prior in the starting XI and he made just 49 runs (10, 21, 18 & 0) and took 10 catches behind the stumps in the two subsequent Tests at Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

Still, Bairstow and Lancashire’s Jos Butler are perceived to be the next generation of wicketkeepers as England prepares to usher in a new dawn.

However, it is clear Prior doesn’t intend to walk away without making a concerted challenge to regain his spot in the batting order and beside the slip cordon.

“You have two options. You either give it up or you do the other thing and that’s fight and I’m not very good at giving it up,” the Johannesburg-born cricketer explained.

“The thing that hurts me is that an Ashes series – especially in Australia – is a massive series for any English cricketer and certainly, as a senior player in the team, you want to perform in those series.

“I didn’t do that and that’s disappointing, but it lights a fire inside of you and a motivation to want to put it right and that’s exactly what I have right now.

“But, the only way you can put it right is by performance – not by talking about it or anything else.

“It’s about going out there, scoring runs and keeping well and that’s all I concentrating on right now.”

Prior also leapt to the defence of Jonathan Trott after it emerged that the batsman was physically and mentally exhausted – and not depressed – when he left the Ashes tour to return home.

Ex England captain Michael Vaughan has said he feels “conned” that Trott’s departure was blamed on a long-standing stress-related illness at the time, but Prior arguably had a better vantage point as the events unfolded down in Oz.

“Trotty was in a terrible way in Australia, he made a decision and I’ll be supporting him,” he said. “Jonathan Trott is a class player and an England cricket team with Trotty in it is a better cricket team, so fingers crossed he makes a full recovery and gets back soon.”

He was understandably far from supportive though of Pietersen, with his prior assertion that the latter’s absence made for a better England dressing room sparking a barbed, cheeky riposte from ‘KP’ on Twitter.

“No,” he replied when asked whether he’d be prepared to thrash out his differences with Pietersen face-to-face rather than via print or social media.

“I’m not here to talk about anyone else or anything else. The reason I’m here is because I’m excited to be in Dubai to play in this competition, the Emirates Twenty20, and the only thing I’m focusing on is me and my own game.”



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