Matt Prior

[superkingdave]

Haven't been encouraged by his keeping today to be honest. He's taken some very good takes for sure, be he's also grassed a fair few regulation ones coming through

 

[91Jmay]

I think he did decent with the gloves, and really was superb with the bat. Has given us the option of an overnight declaration.

 

[simmy]

The fact remains... he is an improving keeper and averages 50 with the bat.

 

[pietersenrocks]

Why has Davies replaced Ambrose in the Lions' team. He was doing a decent and bats well.

 

[Richard]

The fact remains... he is an improving keeper and averages 50 with the bat.

We've no evidence of his being an improving 'keeper. If he is, great, but as I say, he's done what he's done since his most recent rank shocker before now.

 

[tooextracool]

Like Prior or not, there is little doubt that he has outperformed his counterpart Haddin with the gloves and has been excellent throughout this series. Even at Lords, which is one of the hardest places for a wicket keeper (ask Akmal, Boucher and Haddin), he was flawless throughout.

 

[tooextracool]

Why has Davies replaced Ambrose in the Lions' team. He was doing a decent and bats well.

Because Ambrose bats as though he is devoid of a front foot.

 

[Richard]

FTR I'm not terribly surprised Haddin has struggled, to a relatively minor extent, this series. Most wicketkeepers do on their first tour (not aware of Haddin playing any major cricket in the UK before though may be wrong as haven't read every CricketArchive match on him), and some continue to struggle even on their later ones.

See: Boucher, Mark - 1998; Parore, Adam - 1999; Jacobs, Ridley - 2000; Gilchrist, Adam - 2001; Ratra, Ajay and Patel, Parthiv - 2002; Kamran Akmal - 2006; Ramdin, Denesh and Dhoni, Mahendra - 2007... you get the picture. Obviously, the likes of Patel and Akmal are just dreadful wicketkeepers full-stop, so that doesn't prove a great deal, but they have seemed to do worse than ever over here.

The UK is a place like no other to keep wicket, and more so than ever now that it is almost the only place left where Duke balls are still used.

 

[zaremba]

See: Boucher, Mark - 1998; Parore, Adam - 1999; Jacobs, Ridley - 2000; Gilchrist, Adam - 2001; Ratra, Ajay and Patel, Parthiv - 2002; Kamran Akmal - 2006; Ramdin, Denesh and Dhoni, Mahendra - 2007

Healy, Ian - 1989

 

[Richard]

For all the books\articles I've read and footage I've seen of that series, the fact that wicketkeeping is a relatively "background" matter means I've not read so much as one comment or seen one piece of footage giving evidence on the matter of Healy's wicketkeeping that horrible (for England cricket) summer.

So thus I can only take your word on the matter.

 

[zaremba]

For all the books\articles I've read and footage I've seen of that series, the fact that wicketkeeping is a relatively "background" matter means I've not read so much as one comment or seen one piece of footage giving evidence on the matter of Healy's wicketkeeping that horrible (for England cricket) summer.

So thus I can only take your word on the matter.

Yep and to be fair I was only 15 and wasn't then, and am not now, an expert in wicketkeeping technique. Nor can I point to any specific dropped catches or fumbles etc; my memory is pretty blurry. He just seemed generally iron gloved.

It was nice to know (and it was pretty clear for all to see) that while we were being completely humiliated in all 6 Tests, we were ahead in one discipline namely wicketkeeping. In fact IIRC this is the specific reason why Jack Russell was awarded the England MOTS award.

 

[Richard]

Most people wouldn't even have qualified as of the 29 players used that summer most didn't come close to playing the full series, less still actually looking vaguely good.

Really only Robin Smith, Russell and Fraser came out of it with all that much credit at all.

 

[zaremba]

Most people wouldn't even have qualified as of the 29 players used that summer most didn't come close to playing the full series, less still actually looking vaguely good.

Really only Russell and Fraser came out of it with all that much credit at all.

Robin Smith

553 runs at 61.44

 

[Richard]

Yeah, true that. In the days when Trevor Hohns was the best Australia had to offer in the spin dept, he was always a good bet.

 

[zaremba]

Well Prior nearly made a muppet out of himself by going for a ball which would have gone to first slip's left hand. But he took it cleanly, and had an excellent time with the gloves in the Aussie first innings. Allowed byes through only twice, one of which swerved at the last moment and the second of which should have been given as a wide.

 

[tooextracool]

Yep Prior has been extremely impressive all series, has yet to fluff up a chance and hes taken some blinders behind the stumps. I've always felt that you can go from a poor keeper to a serviceable one as long as you put in the effort. Geraint Jones did it and so did Alec Stewart. This is why I've been more or less in favor of Prior being given a run as a wicket-keeper batsman in the England side despite all of his bungling around in the earlier part of his international career.

 

[fredfertang]

Amazing what a bit of confidence can do - he may not be a James Foster, but equally he's no Geraint Jones, and I reckon his batting average will be back above Adam Gilchrist by the end of the series - always assuming he's required to bat of course, which he may not be given the way things are going

 

[Lillian Thomson]

He's thus far doing okay but he needs to maintain it for the rest of this series and over a number series and years before the eulogies become too lavish.

 

[superkingdave]

Still worried he will get worked out as a batsman at this level, but if he can work on his loose technique to balls coming in to him he'd be in good shape.

 

[Uppercut]

Still worried he will get worked out as a batsman at this level, but if he can work on his loose technique to balls coming in to him he'd be in good shape.

It's a pretty minor weakness. He's a class act IMO.