Prior takes the plaudits

Matt Prior impressed with the bat on his return to England duty in the NatWest Series

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Matt Prior has received ringing endorsements from his coach and captain as England begin their preparations for a winter abroad.

The 26-year-old lost his place as England’s Test and one-day wicketkeeper last year, having come in for heavy criticism from some quarters for his performances behind the stumps.

He spent most of this summer in county cricket, excelling with bat and gloves for Sussex and winning a recall for the NatWest Series against South Africa.

Prior impressed with both facets of his game during England’s 4-0 triumph - wrapped up by Wednesday’s wash-out at the SWALEC Stadium - earning praise from Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen ahead of the Stanford Super Series in Antigua and the pre-Christmas tour of India.

Coach Moores said: “He’s done really well. The first thing he did well is that when he got left out of the Test match side he came back very strongly and did well in county cricket, which is always a good sign.

“We then gave him a chance here (in the one-day series) and he’s shown he’s improved as a wicketkeeper and he’s been calm.

“There’s a lot of credit to him for the way he’s played. He’s put the ball in the selectors’ court, that’s for sure.”

Moores and his fellow selectors are due to meet in the next few days before announcing the 13-man squad to compete in the Stanford 20/20 clash in Antigua on November 1 and the seven-match one-day series in India that follows.

But they intend to delay the announcement of the Test squad - England face India in two Tests shortly before Christmas - until the end of the county season to allow players such as Michael Vaughan time to press their case for inclusion.

Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen have also noticed an improvement in Prior's wicketkeeping

Prior has made a strong case to be included in the Test as well as the one-day squad, having shone alongside Ian Bell at the top of the order during the NatWest Series as well as demonstrating the work he has put in on his wicketkeeping.

He equalled Alec Stewart’s England record of six victims in the second match at Trent Bridge, and took a couple of sensational catches - most recently to account for Herschelle Gibbs in Cardiff - during the series.

“He’s gone away from the game and not talked about much and worked on his game, got better at the areas where he probably let himself down and went away and worked at it,” captain Pietersen said.

“Matty didn’t gob off to anybody, and said he’d been unlucky. He’s gone away and done the business.

“He’s become a really good bloke, he’s matured a lot as a man over the last year and he’s been a dream in the dressing room, helping the other lads.

“He’s been consistently brilliant throughout the one-day series and deserves all the accolades.

“Matty likes people in his corner and I’m certainly in his corner as is the coach and the senior players.

“We want Matty Prior to be in our side and be successful for us for a long time because he’s a very talented kid.”