Matt Prior-should he be keeper?

[Sureshot]

Prior feet are very static while batting as well.

Not really, in his last innings they were, but he wasn't settled at all. I think his footwork today has been very good, clearly working on it.

 

[sohum]

He's only 25, also, name me one player who's gone into international cricket without a problem?

Tatenda Taibu?

Maybe he had problems but he turned out okay.

 

[sd92]

I miss taibu he was a great young player.

 

[Kev]

Well at the moment Prior isn't really performing, I believe he has already set a record of most byes in a 3 match series and he hasn't really all that much with the bat. Should he be the England keeper at the moment? I'm not sure. One thing I am sure of though is if every time an England keeper has a bad time everyone jumps on his back then we are never going to find a decent keeper no matter who gets the nod. These days the best keepers rarely get picked as a keeper is expected to contribute with the bat (Unless of course the best keeper can bat). Everyone harps on about how good Stewart was and I was a big fan (He was my favourite player in the England side for years) but he wasn't the best wicket keeper around at the time Jack Russell was, but Alec was given time to make himself into a decent wicket keeper. So I think before the knives come out we need to give Prior a chance regardless of our opinions of his ability currently.

 

[Deleted member 11215]

I think what people tend to think is things like 'ooh the coach loves this guy, hes never going to get dropped', personally i believe it to be the opposite. Moores wouldnt just be picking Prior because there mates because Moores would get the boot. We've seen the potential there from Prior and another thing people seem to forget is although prior hasnt got many runs this series how many english batsmen have made good runs? And how many england bowlers have got alot of wickets for not many runs? Not alot.

I honestly believe that like fletcher said this england side peaked too early so now we are going through a stage of rebuilding and bringing in some new players. Statistically id like to know how many times someone like Gilchrist has been dropped by Australia because i doubt its that many times.

My final point is that being english we always try to find someone or something to blame. In the football last world cup it was Ronaldos fault or the Refs fault. So what are we doing here? Blaming the easy target, we're gonna lose this series because our batting has been crap. If the batsmen got runs people wouldnt care if prior was dropping 1 or 2 but now we're losing we have to blame someone.

 

[smssia0112]

No, I'm comparing his situation to Jones.

If you mean Nixon then picking someone who is almost 37 is pointless.

No, I meant the only one that hasn't made a mistake. That would be Chris Read.

Let's have a look at Chris Read over the past couple of years:
Comes in to the side after poor form from Geraint Jones over a sustained period of almost his entire career. Read has a good series, and is then dropped for the tour of Australia, because Jones was, um... well that's anyone's guess. Jones plays badly for 3 tests, and is finally dropped for Read. Read proceeds to come in and play like a man posessed, bagging something like 7 or 8 catches (I think)? He also bats quite well, making a not out while his better teammates are failing to trouble the Aussie bowlers. Everyone ridicules the decision to not play him in the first place, and he is officially dubbed England's best keeper. Read is then dropped for Paul Nixon in the ODI series, and Matthew Prior in the next Test series.

If anyone would like to explain where the logic in such a decision is, I'd be happy to listen. Talk about an unfair go.

For once Matt you speak 100% sense. If Kevin Pietersen dropped six catches in a series...Oh wait!

If Kevin Pietersen's job was to take catches... That's what a wicketkeeper does.

 

[Sureshot]

Chris Read always looked uncomfortable with the bat, I think he should've had more chances (or to be more precise a longer chance last time around). One thing to consider with Prior coming in after Nixon, Dean, is that we changed coaches, so obviously the new coach is going to want to bring in some of his own players. No point in changing a regime, which needed changing, and keeping the same players as before. I though Fletch made a mistake with Read on the Ashes tour, once Read came in vs Pakistan he had to stay until the WC imo. He did well against Pakistan, but had 3 failures vs Australia. There's no point in changing our keeper again, a 5th keeper in a year? Yeah, consistency like that really works!

 

[King Pietersen]

Read may be an awesome wicket-keeper but his batting needs to improve dramatically for him to get into the England team again. Great keeper, not test quality with the bat though, just lengthens the tail imo. Prior is the future.

 

[smssia0112]

Once again, you guys are way too reliant on a wicketkeeper-batsman. Not every country has one and many don't need one. The important part is the wicketkeeping.

If your wicketkeeper is letting through 33 byes in a game, you might as well have your best fielder behind the stumps.

 

[Sureshot]

Those statistics are misleading imo.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

I knew this would happen. He has made a couple of mistakes and people quickly forget the fantastic work he did in the West Indies series. He had Harmison and Plunkett firing balls all over the place and coped magnificently. He proved his worth to me in that series alone. He has continued his fantastic form i think, yes he has dropped 1 or 2 catches, but what keeper goes a whole series without dropping one ? Mistakes happen, and the sooner people realise that cricketers arent robots, and are prone to mistakes the better. Prior still has a test match average of 42 after 10 innings, so his batting hasnt got any worse. I just think the majority of English cricket fans are too fast in criticising keepers. If Prior continues to drop simple catches, then yes we should consider another option, but he has dropped 1 or 2 catches, not 10, just give the guy a break.

I agree, he just needs a little bit of technical work. Send him to Alec Stewart for a while, he seems to know what he's talking about. Also, don't stop him being vocal, I think that's how he keeps himself alive to the game and concentrating.

 

[Sureshot]

During the 180-6 innings he was more vocal. Seeing us through to the draw tonight will do him great guns too.

 

[Almost_Austwick]

I have no real issue with Prior remaining behind the stumps as long as he continues to work at his game (which by all accounts he's more than happy to do).

Read may be a good keeper but his mental approach and attitude are poor. I'd like to see Foster travel as back up keeper this winter but have the feeling that we may see Ambrose get the nod.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

During the 180-6 innings he was more vocal. Seeing us through to the draw tonight will do him great guns too.

And he didn't drop anyone or give away tons of byes, did he? Looks like vocal Prior is the way to go!

 

[Sureshot]

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/engvind/content/current/story/307017.html

Nice to see Chappell jumping on the bandwagon like everyone else seems to be doing.