Prior puts his hand up for England

London: First he had to see off the challenge of an old Sussex teammate in Tim Ambrose. Then there was the return of a superior wicketkeeper in James Foster. After that was the emergence of the big-hitting Craig Kieswetter and now comes perhaps the most threatening rival of them all in Steve Davies.

Through it all Matt Prior has not only stood firm but grown as a cricketer to the point where, as England get ready to defend the Ashes, he is a genuine world-class all-rounder.

It has been a rocky road for a man born in Johannesburg and who lived in Brighton as a teenager. First, his keeping was questioned, then an attitude that was considered too brash. Even now that he is performing at a very high level with both bat and gloves, it is still not enough to earn him a place in England's limited-overs side, where Foster, Kieswetter and Davies have been preferred to him over the last 18 months.

But Prior is England's unquestioned first choice in Test cricket, where batting qualities that earned comparison with Alec Stewart when he scored a century on Test debut in 2007 have been complemented by keeping vastly improved by the coaching of Bruce French. As he approaches Friday's first Ashes tour warm-up game against Western Australia in Perth, the 28-year-old says he's in "a very good place".

"The Pakistan series was fantastic for me," said Prior, who scored a century at Trent Bridge in the first Test and an unbeaten 84 at The Brit Oval. "As a keeping all-rounder you are always aspiring to perform well at both skills and against Pakistan I was at the level I want to be. Now I expect to stay there.

"I don't actually think I was ever as bad a keeper as some people made out," he says. "I've always had good hands and good reflexes, but what I had to improve were a few technical aspects that have enabled me to be more consistent."

Enter former Notts keeper French, who has made a huge impression since he became England's wicketkeeping coach 18 months ago, with Prior being his star pupil.

"I can't speak highly enough about the influence he has had," says Prior. "For example, I had a problem standing back in the West Indies and he helped me sort out my foot movement so I was able to take the ball more cleanly without diving so often. But I'm certainly not stopping here. I've still got goals and want to improve more."

Technical help

The difference for French, one of the last great keeping specialists, is that he was a highly competent technician who played for England in the 1980s without being expected to score Test centuries. "We have long keeping sessions in practice and Frenchy always gives me a funny look if I say it's time to stop and work on batting instead," says Prior. "I have to say to him, ‘Sorry, mate, if I don't try to average 50 as well then eyebrows will be raised'."

Prior could feasibly play international cricket just as a batsman. He averages 42 in Test cricket but, significantly, he has averaged 53 when batting at six, good enough, you would think, to encourage England to play five specialist bowlers, with Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann as a more than decent lower middle order at seven, eight and nine.

Time will tell whether England's preferred policy of an extra batsman at six and Prior at seven, where he averages 43, will win them the Ashes.

Hand over

The Ashes are imminent, but then Prior will almost certainly hand over to Davies for the one-day series in Australia.

Prior has responded to the one-day axe in the way England wanted him to with a weight of one-day runs for Sussex and, having missed one World Cup win in Barbados in May, Prior is keen not to miss the chance of another in India next year.

"I can understand why England want their keeper to open the batting in one-day cricket because it makes room for another all-rounder — and opening is where I want to bat in limited-overs cricket now. It's the place to be."

England's wicketkeeping is clearly in good hands.