Matt Prior retires Matt Prior
Matt Prior

Matt Prior

LONDON. — Former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior has retired from all forms of cricket on medical advice, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

The 33-year-old, known as the “engine room” in two Ashes-winning sides, has been suffering with an Achilles tendon injury and has not played since last year.

“Today is a very sad day for me as I am forced to announce my retirement from the game I love,” Prior, who was also an aggressive middle-order batsman, said.

“I had been hoping and expecting to be fit for the start of the 2015 season. Unfortunately, this has proved impossible, and I have now had to reach this decision.”

Prior played 79 Tests for England, the first in 2007 against West Indies when he made 126 not out and the last against India at Lord’s last year.

Only Alan Knott claimed more dismissals for England than Prior’s 256 while Prior also made 4,099 Test runs.

Feisty, positive and quietly efficient, Prior was one of England’s finest wicketkeeper batsmen in seven years behind the stumps during which he helped his country to three Ashes victories.

He made a century on his debut against the West Indies in 2007 and played 79 test matches, averaging 40.18, behind only Australian Adam Gilchrist, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Zimbabwean Andy Flower among wicketkeepers.

That he should be mentioned alongside such eminent players is a tribute to the contribution of the South African-born right-hander who through sheer hard work made himself into an outstanding gloveman.

Prior, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket yesterday at the age of 33, was a key member of the England team who won the Ashes in 2009, 2010-11 and 2013.

A prickly character, he usually scored his runs quickly and was particularly strong square of the wicket.

But he could also play more defensively when the situation demanded as showed by batting for nearly five hours to score a hundred and save a series in New Zealand in 2013. — Reuters.

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