Matt Prior should be in the Test side
In the Independent , Stephen Brenkley writes that despite the rise of Craig Kieswetter in the shorter formats, Matt Prior deserves the big gloves for the Ashes.
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley writes that despite the rise of Craig Kieswetter in the shorter formats, Matt Prior deserves the big gloves for the Ashes.
There remains a nagging doubt that Prior, Ashes hero that he is, has not been treated with quite the propriety he deserves. Through constant application, his wicketkeeping has progressed enormously and if he has put in the hours, the big secret is still a simple one: he stays lower for longer.
Apart from anything else, Prior is the most unselfish of cricketers. He always does what he thinks the side wants. It is some attribute to have. This is not to say that Kieswetter is selfish. Far from it, because going out and slugging at the top of the order demands the virtue of putting your own figures second.
In the Wisden Cricketer, Alex Bowden is worried about the response to the Friends Provident Twenty20 tournament, which is hardly an 'event' like the IPL. Lesser fixtures wouldn't hurt, and it would also increase attendances for the matches. In some cases, less is more.
I went to India for the IPL. Whatever you say about that tournament, it’s an event. There is one match at a time and you can follow the tournament with ease. The English version features three or four matches a day and it’s also come hot on the heels of the World Twenty20 and the IPL before that. It’s a tournament, but it’s not an event. England’s win in the Caribbean may have spurred interest, but county Twenty20 matches feel a bit like getting some grissini brought to your table after you’ve had a steak.
Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo