Matt Prior’s recent performances with the bat have seen him rise to number 10 in the ICC batting rankings.
England wicketkeeper batsman Matt Prior has been rewarded for his efforts with the bat for his side with a place in the ICC’s top ten batsmen in the world.
Prior’s rise to prominence comes on the back of his match-saving 110 not-out against New Zealand in England’s drawn final Test with the Black Caps in Auckland.
That century was the 31-year-old’s seventh Test hundred for his country and has seen him rise four places in the batting rankings with a career best 745 points.
Prior joins fellow batsman and captain Alastair Cook, who sits in sixth, as the only other Englishman in the top ten.
South African Hashim Amla still tops the list ahead of fellow countryman AB de Villiers and West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
The English wicketkeeper has played 65 Tests for the Three Lions since making his debut in 2007, scoring 3637 runs at an average of 45.46.
Prior came into the England side after fellow ‘keepers Geraint Jones and Chris Read failed to impress. The South African-born player scored an unbeaten 126 on his debut at Lord’s and then 75 in his second Test at Headingley
However problems arose for Prior in 2008 when he was dropped for his country after some criticism about his ‘keeping ability.
After a brief stint with Tim Ambrose England decided to recall Prior and his impressive performances with the bat helped the side regain the Ashes in 2009, beat India 4-0 in a home Test series and make Prior arguably the best wicketkeeper batsman in world cricket.
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