Back where he belongs

The earring has gone, the verbals have been toned down, and the hard work has paid off. In short, Matt Prior has grown up and got his England place back - it's been one heck of a 12 months for him. "The most important year of my career," he admits.

This time last year Prior was still England's Test wicketkeeper, and had only lost his one-day place because he had broken his thumb during the World Twenty20 in South Africa. Then he went to Sri Lanka and averaged 40 against Muttiah Muralitharan and Co. For an England wicketkeeper, that is the magic number. But for Prior there was a problem: he was missing catches. He was dropped for the tour of New Zealand and had to go away and do plenty of soul-searching.

"It's been a year of ups and downs, highs and lows, and a massive year for learning," Prior tells Cricinfo at the launch of Slazenger's 2009 kit range. "The experiences I've had will stand me in good stead for the future. I've matured as a player and a person."

His path back to international colours began on the south coast with Sussex. He was the leading batsman in the country during the first two months of the season and finished with 931 runs and 51.72 in the Championship. Meanwhile, England's wicketkeeping position looked as undecided as ever.

Tim Ambrose, Prior's former team-mate at Sussex, made a bright start to his Test career with a century in only his second Test, in Wellington. But Ambrose's challenges became harder, and while he caught most of what came his way, the runs dried up. His brief taste of one-day cricket was a struggle too. England were back to the drawing board. Prior's time had come again, and it exceeded his expectations.

"My goal when I got left out was to get a winter tour," Prior says. "I thought that was a realistic goal. Breaking back into the team during the summer might be a bit much, I thought. So when I found out I was involved with the India tour, that was the major tick for me. At no stage during the summer did I change those goals. I said to myself, 'That's where I want to be in the winter, and if anything happens before then it's a bonus.' During the South Africa series my aim was still a winter tour."

That ambition has been achieved, and Prior starts the winter as England's one-day keeper and on the verge of a Test recall. Predictably he plays down his hopes of replacing Ambrose - "I'm not thinking that far ahead" - but it would be a huge surprise if he isn't back in Tests, come December. After a year of challenges, Prior will face one of his toughest - keeping on the dusty, low pitches England are likely to encounter.

"I think if you ask many experienced international wicketkeepers, India and Sri Lanka are the two toughest places to keep wicket," he says, with a clear relish for the task. "Not just because of the climate and heat, but also the wickets. You are normally standing very close. It is hard work, it's an unforgiving place, but you can get a huge amount from it and get so much confidence from keeping well in the subcontinent."

How is he preparing himself for the pressure of those energy-sapping conditions, where every chance is a priceless commodity? After all, it was in similar circumstances that he lost his place, after he dropped vital catches off an increasingly furious Ryan Sidebottom in Colombo and Galle.

"It's about putting things into perspective, being able to get excited by things, but also realising that it may or may not be your day," Prior says, giving an insight into his more mature mindset, before using the example of his blinding catch to remove Herschelle Gibbs in the one-day series to illustrate the stresses. "In a lot ways it's in the hands of the gods. You can take a flying catch in front of first slip, but if I'd dropped it that would have been a different story. That's the fine lines you work between in international cricket, especially as a wicketkeeper.

"As international cricketers, as sportsmen, all you can do is work as hard as you can to prepare yourself to perform. When I walk out there all I want to do is score a hundred and catch everything, but as you know we aren't robots and mistakes happen. They will happen. I hate to say it, but I will make another mistake. I'll be trying my level best not to, but I'm human. Then it's dealing with that mistake, otherwise it can ruin your whole day."

Prior's battle for the wicketkeeping position with Ambrose has brought both their careers full circle. They went head to head at Hove, and the challenge persuaded Ambrose to search for pastures new, and he headed to Warwickshire to ensure himself regular first-team action. The two are still close friends and Prior sees it as a huge advantage that they are touring together.

"It's like an old-school keepers union. It will be good to have a guy I consider a mate to bounce the ideas and vice versa. We are still massively close and when we saw each other for the first time in a while recently it was just like being back at Sussex.

"Timmy is a great lad. We have always got on - or at least I think we have - and I am really looking forward to the tour. We said years ago that we'd love to be in an England squad competing for a place. We'll work hard and push each other like we did at Sussex."

At the moment the one-day role is a no-contest after Prior's successful return against South Africa, where he caught all his catches and helped launch England's innings with Ian Bell. "I hate being called a pinch-hitter," Prior says with a hint of annoyance, "I'm a batsman.

"There's been a lot written that Belly is the one that sits in and I go on the attack. But the game at The Oval [where the pair added 101 in 15 overs], Belly was having his day and I had to stay at the other getting singles. Making a successful partnership is all about realising whose day it is."

Prior has certainly picked the right time to get back in the England side, with the small matter of $1 million on offer on November 1 in Antigua. "I was waiting for this," he says when asked how he'll spend the money. "There'll be no flash cars, Swanny is in a world of his own," he adds in reference to team-mate Graeme Swann's call that he'll buy a pink Ferrari if he wins.

"I honestly haven't thought about it. Over the last few weeks I've been trying to forget cricket and work on my gold handicap. I'm just looking at it as a fantastic opportunity."

And as is becoming a common theme among the England squad, Prior says the thought of a mega payday pales in comparison with the thought of regaining the Ashes next year. "To be part of an Ashes-winning team or a Stanford team - it's a no-contest. I think that runs the side. We had to jot it down, the challenges over the next year, and from a cricketing point of view Stanford was the lowest on the list. India is a massive challenge, a hard, tough tour, then of course the Ashes, but that's a long way off.

"There's so much happening; it's a very exciting winter. I don't want to look too far ahead." Prior may believe the last 12 months have been the most important of his career, but the prizes on offer over the next year could change his life forever.