Who will/should replace Prior?

How deadly are back spasms? Will it mean he's out of the Oval Test, especially, if Australia keep England out in the field all day?

In the unlikely event that England will make changes to the wicket keeper, lets throw some ideas together and see what we come up with. Will Colly step in? Will the multiple catches give him confidence to bat well? Or will England try Foster/Ambrose/Davies?


OR is there a rogue Wicketkeeper waiting in the wings?

He'll be fine...

He's also been one of England's best players this series. His keeping has been fine, and he's scored runs. It was a bit rich for people to moan about him throwing the bat and getting a trifle lucky yesterday though - I mean what else was he to do from 70-7? Block?

Back spasms are unpredictable. I get them occasionally, best thing is a valium and a good night's sleep. Can go months without one, then get three in a fortnight.

I think the fact that they were flapping around trying to find a last minute replacement for Prior before settling on Tim Ambrose suggests the selectors don't really know who's next in line.

Prior, Ambrose, Davies and Foster have all played for England in the last four or five months.

Ambrose isn't having a good season and his non-selection for the Lions - replaced by Steve Davies - seemed to suggest he'd dropped further down the pecking order.

Prior will probably be all right, but should they need to replace him, only Davies of the candidates can bat in the top six.

I kept the other day and was pretty tidy...

You're way too much of a defeatist to get the nod though.

Put me on a pitch against some Aussies and I become a rabid beast though.

Played a game a few weeks ago against some charmless grade cricket Aussies who were taking the p*ss against our bowling. After one boundary was hit into some bushes- I retrieved the ball and instead of re-emerging and giving it back I just hid there for a while. That's the sort of approach I'd bring to the team.

Surely he has to be replaced with a "commonwealth" player.

Phil Neale was asking for Davies' whereabouts when it looked likely that Prior would not be able to play - according to the local rag.

Is Riki Wessels eligible?

And would his selection mean a change in the spelling and illustration of 'Rikki' threads.

FC debut in 2004. Can't remember if it's a four or five year qualifying period. But he's probably qualified.

If only he wasn't utter dump.

Kieswetter qualifies next February.

Doesn't give him much time to learn how to catch, then.

Strikes a mean ball, though.

Dello wrote:Doesn't give him much time to learn how to catch, then.

Strikes a mean ball, though.

He's looked ok behind the timbers when I've seen him.

Televised FC match earlier in the season: shocking. Shelled at least three catches, off the top of my head.

Looked an absolute donkey.

Maybe it was just one of those games, but a favourable impression he did not make.

Michael Holding proposed a possible top and middle order for England for The Oval Test.


Strauss*
Cook
Key
Bopara
Prior
Collingwood
Foster+


Does Holding post/lurk on this forum?

Probably. He sounds dim enough.

Prior's kept wicket the best he ever has in this series. Why would we bring in a new keeper, one that can't bat, and weaken the weakest batting line up in the history of weak even further?

Well, I'm not Michael Holding. Honest.

Dello wrote:Probably. He sounds dim enough.

Prior's kept wicket the best he ever has in this series. Why would we bring in a new keeper, one that can't bat, and weaken the weakest batting line up in the history of weak even further?

Bizarre, isn't it? He's kept well and batted pretty well too. If it wasn't for all those muppets above him, we'd regard his runs as more than good enough from a keeper/batsman this series.

He also now plays with a solid air of confidence - nowt seems to phase him, regardless of the match situation.
Good to see ... having once been one of those who wanted to neuter him with a rusty blade !

There needed to be some patience with him. His batting was always good enough (he's probably the second best batsman in this England side), but when he was struggling with his keeping, the hysterical reaction to every single mistake was ridiculous. The media (including the commentators) don't have the first clue about wicketkeeping, and would talk some utter rot - complaining about missing supposed half-chances stood up to the stumps that no keeper in the history of the world has ever taken because they aren't chances at all, as well as battering him for dropped catches when they ignored other people dropping catches.

Yes, his keeping needed work. His keeping still needs work, but there's more than enough ability there for a degree of patience.

The problem is that if you pick a player like Prior, the pundits will slate his keeping, and if you picked a player like Read the pundits will slate his batting.

... the hysterical reaction to every single mistake was ridiculous.

Not really ... he was embarrasingly shite ... and the Extras column proved it time and time again.
Undoubtedly his batting kept him in the side during that period ... and it's good to see now that he's worked on his primary role.
He's still a long way off being 'the best' keeper in the English game, and let's not forget, he is in this side as the Keeper.

Merlin wrote:

... the hysterical reaction to every single mistake was ridiculous.

Not really ... he was embarrasingly shite ... and the Extras column proved it time and time again.
Undoubtedly his batting kept him in the side during that period ... and it's good to see now that he's worked on his primary role.
He's still a long way off being 'the best' keeper in the English game, and let's not forget, he is in this side as the Keeper.

He wasn't keeping well, I don't dispute that. But what I'm saying is that the reaction was over the top right from the start. Prior was never allowed to make a single mistake, which of course heaped more pressure on him. There seemed to be a presumption that other wicketkeepers never, ever, ever drop a catch or miss a stumping, so as soon as one went down that was cause for a general slagging. Let me put it this way, if Prior drops a catch at the Oval you will get the usual suspects in the media and on here who will jump on him and call for him to be crucified - and that would be his first drop of the series. Now, THAT is completely unreasonable.

Zat wrote:Back spasms are unpredictable. I get them occasionally, best thing is a valium and a good night's sleep. Can go months without one, then get three in a fortnight.

Aye, farkin barstewards of things. I can get 'em cleaning my teeth, sneezing or merely turning the wrong way, such is the state of my dodgy back. Takes me up to 2 months to get over a bad one. Haven't played golf for getting on for 7 years as a result.

Was most surprised to see Prior recover so quickly.