Matt Prior: Former England wicketkeeper's career highs and lows

Matt Prior has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

While the former Sussex and England gloveman will never take to the field again, he had plenty of highs and lows out in the middle during his near 10-year international career.

HIGHS

Debut delight (2007)

Prior made history during his maiden Test match for England, becoming the first wicketkeeper from his country to score a ton on debut. And what a ton it was. The right-hander reached the milestone off just 105 balls, with 16 fours, before ending unbeaten on 126. The gloveman’s knock could not inspire England to a first-Test victory at Lord’s, with day-five rain ensuring the game petered out into a draw, but he played a huge role in the remaining four encounters, cracking two half-centuries (one at Headingley, one in Durham) and pouching eight catches as England took the series 3-0. It was the start of a long and successful five-day career for Prior, who carded 3920 runs and claimed 256 dismissals with the mitts, the latter just shy of Alan Knott’s England record (269).

Plunder Down Under (2010/11)

Alastair Cook’s 766 runs and James Anderson’s 24 wickets went a long way to England ending 24 years of hurt in Australia, but the contribution of Prior must not be underestimated. It was a slow start for him, sure, as he collected a golden duck in the first Test during a stunning Peter Siddle hat-trick and registered a top score of 27 across the opening three games. But with the series poised at 1-1, Prior stood up. Well, he stood up, crouched down, and got on the end of SIX catches as England dismissed Australia for 98 at the MCG and then biffed 85 to help his team win by an innings and 157 runs and retain the Ashes. There was more walloping to come, though, with Prior clubbing the fastest Ashes hundred since Sir Ian Botham in 1981 in the final Test, off 109 balls.

England’s finest (2013)

Prior to the 2013 Ashes, Mr Prior was recognised for a stellar 12 months by being named England Cricketer of the Year, the first wicketkeeper to secure the award. The South Africa-born player’s highlight was a match-saving – and indeed series-saving – century in Auckland, where he batted for 263 minutes, a lot of that time with the tail, to score a superb unbeaten 110 and leave New Zealand one wicket shy of victory. Prior also collected seven Test-half centuries that season, including four in a home series against South Africa’s famed pace attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel et al and two away to India, with a gritty, backs-to-the-wall, 225-ball 91 in Ahmedabad the most notable. The summer of 2013 wasn’t too bad for Prior either as he became a three-time Ashes winner.

LOWS

One-day toils (2004-2011)

For a player with such dashing strokes in his locker, it is a mystery why Prior managed only three half-centuries in his 62 one-day international innings and a top score of 87. Things started promisingly for him when he hit 35, 45 and 32 from the opening berth in his first three ODIs but the right-hander could not push on afterwards, only exceeding fifty against West Indies twice and Australia once. A large part of that may have been down to him being constantly shunted up and down the order – Prior batted in almost every spot between two and nine – but he also never looked as accustomed to the fifty-over format as his successor, Jos Buttler. Still, an ODI batting average of 24.18 is nowhere near as high as it should have been, something that must rankle.

Dropped for a year (2007-2008)

When England toured Sri Lanka in late 2007 Prior did okay with the blade, scoring two fifties across the three Tests, but he was deemed not quite up to scratch with the gloves and soon lost his place to Tim Ambrose. While Ambrose made a bright start to his international tenure, posting scores of 55 and 102 in his first and third innings at Test level respectively, both against New Zealand, Prior was left to ponder his future and briefly considered carrying on his career as an out-and-out batsman before a natter with former England ‘keeper Alec Stewart convinced him otherwise. He worked tirelessly on improving with the gauntlets and that, coupled with a run-heavy 2008 season for Sussex, saw Prior recalled to the England team that December. He never really looked back.

The end (2014-15)

There were signs that Prior was creaking in both the 2013 and 2013-14 Ashes – his top score in the former was 47 and he was axed three games into the latter after passing fifty just once. Prior threatened a return to form in the first Test against Sri Lanka the following summer with an 86 at Lord’s but that proved to be a false dawn as he could only muster 93 runs across his next six innings. That fallow period, which concluded with a 19-ball 12 at HQ, convinced Prior to undergo surgery on his Achilles, and while he always hoped to get back fit and push Buttler all the way for a starting spot, that goal failed to materialise. Cycling is Prior’s focus now – he is the general manager of One Pro Cycling – but his former team-mates will never forget how vital a cog he was for them.