Prior aims to keep pushing

By Paresh Soni

Prior knows securing a Test place will be a tough task

The heat and humidity of Colombo may seem a long way from a sharp spring morning in Hove.

But Matt Prior believes the lessons he learned from the recent England A tour of Sri Lanka will stand him in good stead for the new county season.

The Sussex wicket-keeper continued his metoric rise with some superb batting displays as an opener and coming in lower down.

This came on the back of an encouraging one-day international debut in Zimbabwe.

Indeed, such was the confidence he exuded, talk inevitably turned to the prospect of him becoming the number seven for the England Test team.

For now, however, Prior is still cooling off after his hot spell in the subcontinent.

"The cricket in Sri Lanka was brilliant, but the thing that stuck out was the weather," he told BBC Sport.

"The heat and humidity was just phenomenal, something I've never experienced before.

I wanted to put myself in the shop window and I think I've done that Prior on England

"Even Vikram Solanki said it was the hardest place to play cricket - and he's travelled around the world a bit."

Amid that furnace, Prior's cool-headed batting stood out, particularly his superb 104 which almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the second four-day match against Sri Lanka A.

The 22-year-old believes the experience will help him build on two excellent seasons for Sussex.

"To walk in at 22-5 and get so close gave me a lot of confidence. I enjoy it when the pressure is on and play my best cricket," Prior explained.

"The wickets were pretty slow and low, which is usual for the subcontinent, but they did more than I thought they might.

"Playing in that heat with the ball swinging around was something to grab hold of and take away."

On now to domestic matters and, despite scoring more than a thousand runs in the Championship-winning year and in 2004, Prior believes there is plenty more to come from him.

PRIOR'S FIRST-CLASS RECORD Debut: 2001 Runs: 3,868 Ave: 39.07 100s: 9 Best: 201*

"My keeping has improved hugely over the last year. When I was with England A in India last year I knew I struggled because the ball was keeping low," he admitted.

"I wanted to show people I'm a top-class wicket-keeper, not only a batter. That's another thing I'm going to take into the season.

"The A tour is over now and I'm going to wipe the slate clean. Hopefully I'll have another good year with the bat."

For Prior and his Sussex team-mates, 2004 was an eye-opener, a tough examination of their credentials following the previous season's glory.

The Johannesburg-born right-hander admits they failed that test but insists they will not make the same mistakes again.

"I underestimated the pressure you get from being champions," he said.

"It's almost in your subconcious - you don't realise you are putting yourself under pressure.

"But you are and it's very hard to focus on the games session by session.

If we can gel we'll be a team to watch Prior on Sussex

"You're almost chasing each game and thinking about the points total you had at the same stage the previous year, which is dangerous.

"The squad will take a hell of lot from that into next season.

"The guys told me this pre-season has been one of best, the team have been training hard all winter.

"We've got young players really pushing hard for places and everyone is up for it. If we can gel we'll be a team to watch."

After his impressive introduction to international cricket, Prior knows he has been marked out as one to keep an eye on for England - and he likes it that way.

"I'm excited. I wanted to put myself in the shop window and I think I've done that," he added.

"Just before the Ashes series is not the best time to start experimenting. I'm being realistic but you never know.

"If you're scoring runs and the statistics back you up, you're pushing yourself forward all the time.

"And that's all I can do."