Defeat in the first Test was a slap on our face, Prior says

Dubai: England wicketkeeper batsman Matt Prior admitted that the defeat to Pakistan in the first Test in just three days was a performance which gave the team a real "slap on the face."

Prior, who topscored with a resilient knock of 70 runs in the first innings, was candid about the feelings in the England camp and admitted that England's batting failed on a very good wicket at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

"It is never nice to lose and to lose the way we did was even worse. We had a bit of time out to think and reassess about things and move on and put that last Test match to bed. To be honest, this poor performance has given us a real good slap on the face. So, we have to make sure it does not happen again."

Praise for pitch

Prior refused to blame the wicket for England's poor batting display. "It was a brilliant wicket. Subcontinent-type wickets are usually very flat with nothing for the bowlers but here, even the seamers got a bit of bounce and movement. Obviously, it spun a little bit and if one batted well, you could play shots and get a few runs. I thought, all in all, it was a good cricketing wicket."

Prior refused to talk about the controversy surrounding the action of England's nemesis Saeed Ajmal. "It's very easy for players to get caught out making excuses after we performed badly. As a side, it is important that we concentrate on the deliveries coming down to us and not on off-field stuff. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has stuff in place and we leave it to them to worry about the things we need not have to worry about."

Prior said that taking a long break before this series had affected the players. "It was one of those Catch 22 situations where we needed the break, but at the same time, we could not have afforded a long break. You can do as much time as you want in the gym, lot of time in the nets and training ground, but until you are out in the middle, you don't really get that ring ready sort of feeling."

"Getting used to the little things like travelling to the ground on the morning of a Test match, the nerves and batting in the first innings and the time to switch on and off are important. These things you can do only while you are playing. Having a two to three-month break was valuable as we had played lot of cricket. At the same time, it was tough to get back in and be ready," he said.

Prior hinted that England would come back and win the series. "We are a proud team with a proud captain and players. The England team is used to winning and is used to inflicting loses on other teams the way they beat us. I know it was very a hard pill to swallow. No one in this team could take it one little bit and took a few days to get over it, but now, we are steely determined that it will not happen again. The other thing is that after such performances, England has always come back very strongly. We are now going to come back and win the series 2-1."