A Third Test Century for England's wicketkeeper
Once again a middle order batsman has stepped up to help steer England away from potential danger towards almost certain victory with a century. Where Eoin Morgan had his moment in the first innings, here it was Matt Prior’s turn to raise the bat.
Though he ended the day a hero, he was villain earlier in the day as hesitant calling from Prior saw Morgan run out with the score at 98-6 and whatever momentum England had built up was beginning to be halted by the clatter of wickets.
After Umar Gul swung hard earlier the day to avoid the follow on, including some mighty blows off Anderson and Finn, it was England’s turn to face the swinging ball with the Pakistan bowlers running riot.
The mood was set, as ever, by Mohammed Aamer who nipped out Andrew Strauss with a beauty, then Cook swiftly followed-strangled down the leg side.
After a bright respite from the steady Jonathan Trott and a recovering Kevin Pietersen, who showed signs of returning to form with some fine shots-including one lovely straight drive off Umar Gul.
Yet both men swiftly fell to the Pakistan fast bowler, Pietersen caught wonderfully by a diving Kamran Akmal off an inside edge and then Trott with a delivery which kept low.
Once Collingwood, fortunate to survive a first ball duck when Akmal dived too far and spilled an outside edge, fell LBW to Gul and after Prior and Morgan’s mix up, England were on course for a tough target but rocking along the way.
Yet up stepped Prior, all busy energy and capable stroke play, to steady the ship. Here was an innings which ought to have silenced any doubts, if any, about his worth to this team.
His batting was dogged, determined, yet not without flair-as shown by two big sixes off Kaneria to take him into the nineties. But more importantly was the way he manoeuvred England’s lower order towards a near impossible total for Pakistan to chase.
Partnerships of 49 with Graeme Swann, 56 with Stuart Broad and 51 with last man Steven Finn were vital, and showed his ability not only to take a firm grip on proceedings, but keep the score rattling along at a rapid rate.
Only as he edged towards his hundred did he slow, as he crept cautiously towards the century-perhaps conscious that he had not scored one since March 2009.
Yet once the width was offered, a cut through gully brought him the three runs for his third Test hundred. As Strauss duly declared, with the lead now standing at a world record 435 runs, and given the calibre of the Pakistan batsmen and conditions of the Trent Bridge surface a certain victory.
England’s good form continued as Stuart Broad came to the party with two vital wickets and Anderson nipping out another one to leave Pakistan tottering at 15-3 at the close. Such a final flourish merely embellished Prior’s innings further.
Since Alec Stewart’s retirement England have searched desperately for a wicketkeeper batsman who can both keep soundly and score more than his fair share of runs, in Prior they have a man who ticks both boxes.
His keeping is now lithe and athletic to both seam and spin bowlers courtesy of hard yards put in with coach Bruce French, and he no longer betrays any of the technical deficiencies which marred his first foray into Test match cricket.
Meanwhile his batting, always his strongest suit, has never been doubted, despite a slight wobble in South Africa. A test match average over 40-still a lofty landmark in Test cricket-is hugely creditable and puts him up there with the best batsmen among England’s pantheon of wicketkeepers.
It seems almost strange to think that just weeks ago Craig Kieswetter was being tipped to force Prior out of the Test position given their recent turn of fortunes.
While Kieswetter searches vainly for a recovery of the form that made him such a force to be reckoned with in the T20 Championships, Prior continues to get stronger and stronger after scoring plenty in all forms for Sussex.
But as his latest hundred goes to show, when the pressure is on, Prior is more than capable of responding well.
As England continue on through this series, and then eventually towards the Ashes this winter, one suspects they will continue to appreciate the worth of their wicketkeeper batsman. On this evidence he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Pitched Up: Full and Straight 