Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Matthew James Prior
Born February 26, 1982, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Current age 26 years 178 days
Major teams England, England A, England Lions, Sussex, Sussex Cricket Board
Batting style Right-hand bat
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
Height 5 ft 11 in
Education Brighton College, East Sussex

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

562

126*

40.14

1001

56.14

ODIs

470

21.36

647

72.64

T20Is

116

23.20

128.88

First-class

132

209

7473

201*

39.53

11208

66.67

308

List A

157

145

3694

144

26.96

129

Twenty20

818

24.05

608

134.53

102

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

ODIs

T20Is

First-class

132

List A

157

Twenty20

Career statistics

Test debut

England v West Indies at Lord's, May 17-21, 2007 scorecard

Last Test

Sri Lanka v England at Galle, Dec 18-22, 2007 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

Zimbabwe v England at Bulawayo, Dec 5, 2004 scorecard

Last ODI

Scotland v England at Edinburgh, Aug 18, 2008 scorecard

ODI statistics

T20I debut

England v West Indies at The Oval, Jun 28, 2007 scorecard

Last T20I

South Africa v England at Cape Town, Sep 16, 2007 scorecard

T20I statistics

First-class debut

2001

Last First-class

Lancashire v Sussex at Manchester, Aug 6-9, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

2000

Last List A

Scotland v England at Edinburgh, Aug 18, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Hampshire v Sussex at Southampton, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Sussex v Kent at Hove, Jun 27, 2008 scorecard

Matthew Prior moved to England from South Africa and represented England at all ages, up to and including the Under-19 squad, making his Sussex debut in 2001. An aggressive batsman whose wicketkeeping development has been slightly hampered by having to share county duties with Tim Ambrose, he toured India with the England A side in 2003-04. He was selected to tour Zimbabwe as part of England's one-day squad in November 2004 and played in just one match, striking 35. He rejoined the A team for their series against United Arab Emirates and, after an unconvincing first match - he made 0 - he went on hit 84, 56 and 122 not out. He had less success in the subsequent triangular tournament against Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A. Prior earned selection for the England winter tours of Pakistan and India in 2005-06, but playing mostly as a batsman he failed to make any real impact. This lack of form resulted in him missing out of the Champions Trophy in October 2006, but he was named in the Academy squad to be stationed in Perth during the 2006-07 Ashes series. Two fifties in England A's 2-1 win over Bangladesh A wasn't enough to book him a World Cup berth, but his chance arrived when he was named in the squad for the first Test against West Indies. He began in thrilling fashion, becoming the first England wicketkeeper to score a century on debut with an unbeaten 126 at Lord's, followed by 75 at Headingley. The new Alec Stewart, England hoped, had arrived. However, a poor subsequent series against India and a disappointing tour to Sri Lanka exposed flaws with his keeping, as his star diminished and he was dropped for England's tour of New Zealand in 2008.
Will Luke January 2008

Aug 13, 2008

Matt Prior goes through his skills during training © Getty Images

Jul 0, 2008

England's procession of wicketkeepers since the retirement of Alec Stewart. A graph from The Wisden Cricketer magazine © The Wisden Cricketer

Jul 0, 2008

A chart detailing the order of merit of England's eligible wicketkeepers, from The Wisden Cricketer magazine © The Wisden Cricketer

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