Prior is public enemy No1

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Matt Prior, dropped by England and branded an ?uneducated skinhead buffoon? by one newspaper columnist, says he is desperate to restore his battered reputationMore... Matt Prior, dropped by England and branded an'uneducated skinhead buffoon' by one newspaper columnist, says he is desperate to restore his battered reputation. The Sussex wicketkeeper, 26 later this month, admits his morale hit rock-bottom when he received hate mail following England's controversial Test series defeat by India last summer. Matt Prior Out in the cold: Wicketkeeper Matt Prior celebrates another Indian wicket, but his England career went into freefall after various incidents on the pitch and a Test series defeat The letter that hurt most was from a woman who wrote: "I can't let my kids watch cricket any more because of the way you behave." Last week Prior, born in Johannesburg but raised in England since the age of 11 and educated at public school in Brighton, started his attempt at public rehabilitation by discarding the gold earring that became a symbol of his image as a shaven-headed lout, and by trying to explain the events which saw him cast as an abusive sledger of batsmen. "I don't like the person I am portrayed as being," he said. "When I've read the character assassinations, I've phoned my family and asked, 'Is this really me?'" Prior's problems began when he was identified as the ringleader of a series of rancorous incidents during the series with India. England fans booed him and Prior felt so bad he told his parents to stay away from the Tests. The ill-tempered incidents reached their nadir at Trent Bridge with a crass remark allegedly directed at India's master batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, and the infamous Jellybean Affair. Prior was said to have taunted Tendulkar by saying: "I drive a Porsche, what do you drive?" and to have been party to an attempt to upset the concentration of Zaheer Khan by showering the pitch with jellybeans when the Indian bowler came out to bat. "None of it was true," said Prior. "Sledging was not England's strategy against India, and the Porsche thing was a joke that backfired. It started when I mentioned a sponsor's name, Bollinger, between deliveries and it was picked up by the stump microphone. "The next day, a bottle of champagne was delivered to my place in the England dressing room from a guy who had heard his company's name on television. "As a joke the following day, Alastair Cook, who was fielding at shortsquare leg, said: 'I like Bang and Olufsen televisions'. Then I said my favourite car was the Porsche Carrera. It was as innocent as that, a joke between two cricketers and never a sledge directed at Tendulkar, who anyway owns a fleet of cars and aircraft. But all we got was abuse from the media." Prior also claims the jellybean incident had an entirely innocent explanation. It was not, he says, an attempt to disrupt Zaheer's concentration nor the result of Prior himself being bombarded with jellybeans by England's close fielders in an attempt to shut him up. "Absolute nonsense," said Prior. "During a drinks break, someone inadvertently dropped some jellybeans as Zaheer Khan walked out to bat. He kicked them away and I was faced with an inquisition by the media at the end of play. I said I didn't know what happened, Zaheer said something else, and the next day the Jellybean Affair was everywhere. "For the rest of the tour, I was public enemy number one, sworn at left, right and centre by India's players when I went out to bat, knowing I would be chastised if I reacted." Like Geoff Miller, England's new national selector, Prior says he sees nothing wrong in mild sledging. India, fresh from another illtempered series, this time against Australia, would beg to differ, and this week they will press the ICC for a total ban on sledging. Prior accepts that some remarks do go beyond what is acceptable but he claims to have been on the receiving end of the worst sort of abuse during his ten Tests and 22 one-day internationals. "I was called a white dog by one Asian player," he said. "I won't name him. I don't believe in making a fuss about these things, as some do. "I am not a confrontational bloke, just competitive. I don't go out to sledge people, but I'll stand my ground if a fast bowler gives me the stare. And increasing a batsman's anxiety with some mild banter has been part of the game for years."£ Prior followed the India series by being part of the England team that suffered a further setback in Sri Lanka. Criticised for missing several chances, he was dropped from the Test and one-day squads to tour New Zealand. Since then, he has re-written his training schedule in an effort to return a better player next season, even taking up kung fu in a bid to sharpen his reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination. "Nobody in the England camp has shut the door on me," he said. "And quite a few say they believe I can make it back one day. I just want to be a match-winner for England — and liked as a person."

[King]

Another case of wannabe ultra competitive sledger's career gone wrong. Wonder when these international players understand first comes performance then the rest. These days they seem to first get a handle on how to sledge and can't back it up with performance. I guess Matt Prior suffered because of wrong priorities.

[Cricketics]

Another case of wannabe ultra competitive sledger's career gone wrong. Wonder when these international players understand first comes performance then the rest. These days they seem to first get a handle on how to sledge and can't back it up with performance. I guess Matt Prior suffered because of wrong priorities.

how about placing it the rite way. he just wasn't good enough or was over rated after hitting that century against windies in first odi. another silly go sloppy wicket keepr from england.. they haven't found any good replacement since the retirement of Alec Stewart.. it sucks for England and thats a fact. lets see how this Mustard will do.

[talksport]

It started when I mentioned a sponsor's name, Bollinger, between deliveries and it was picked up by the stump microphone. "The next day, a bottle of champagne was delivered to my place in the England dressing room from a guy who had heard his company's name on television. "As a joke the following day, Alastair Cook, who was fielding at shortsquare leg, said: 'I like Bang and Olufsen televisions'. Then I said my favourite car was the Porsche Carrera.

Good One....:D

[Ram]

If his true life story is indeed true, then I feel sorry for him. Its hard enough to drop regulation catches as a wicket keeper and not score runs, but its terrible when you have to endure hate messages from your own fans and media. Besides, which dumb Idiot will walk upto Sachin and say - " I drive this, what do you drive ?" Everyone on the planet knows Sachin has enough money to buy a 10% stake in Porche if he wants to. Still, who can forget that banana inswinger that castled Prior's stumps from RP Singh ! :D

[Ram]

Another case of wannabe ultra competitive sledger's career gone wrong. Wonder when these international players understand first comes performance then the rest. These days they seem to first get a handle on how to sledge and can't back it up with performance. I guess Matt Prior suffered because of wrong priorities.

I disagree slightly. You dont have to be a top-performer to sledge. Its like saying a kid can be naughty if he scores well in his exams. Some guys are aggressive by nature and want to have a go at opposition players and they just do it. Only, the whole world nods its head in agreement when a Shane Warne or a Glenn Mcgrath sledge, coz they are champion players, but when ordinary guys like Prior sledge, everyone goes " first perform then sledge, you loser".

[fineleg]

everyone goes " first perform then sledge' date= you loser".

Right or wrong is debateable. But to be expected - harsh reality - young playerz need to understand that FIRST PERFORM and consistently to create a reputation first.

[DomainK]

We are forgetting the real culprit here. Moors, the England coach is the mentor of Prior and he shares his feelings on sledging with him. They had both made statements in the media during the India tour supporting sledging and Moors had gone to the extent of suggesting removal of stump mics so that sledging levels could be increased. If you make a list of the most useless players at the international level, Prior will be there somewhere in top five. That guys is a complete mess of a wicket keeper and his batting is like Rahul Roy's acting....one hit and flop ever after.

[Mr. Wicket]

I disagree slightly. You dont have to be a top-performer to sledge. Its like saying a kid can be naughty if he scores well in his exams. Some guys are aggressive by nature and want to have a go at opposition players and they just do it. Only' date=' the whole world nods its head in agreement when a Shane Warne or a Glenn Mcgrath sledge, coz they are champion players, but when ordinary guys like Prior sledge, everyone goes " first perform then sledge, you loser".[/quote'] Yes, but it looks stupid when you sledge like Prior and Sami, and then can't hold catches or stop the ball from being smashed to all parts. Then again, I have little to no regard for Prior. Hope you enjoyed your piece of fame in international cricket, you overrated tosser. Piss off and let a proper keeper or batsman take the role.

[Holysmoke]

Prior also claims the jellybean incident had an entirely innocent explanation. It was not, he says, an attempt to disrupt Zaheer's concentration nor the result of Prior himself being bombarded with jellybeans by England's close fielders in an attempt to shut him up. "Absolute nonsense," said Prior. "During a drinks break, someone inadvertently dropped some jellybeans as Zaheer Khan walked out to bat. He kicked them away and I was faced with an inquisition by the media at the end of play. I said I didn't know what happened, Zaheer said something else, and the next day the Jellybean Affair was everywhere.

Stopped reading after this. Thats a lie. Zaheer wasnt pissed that there was a jellybean there. He was pissed because he saw a jellybean on the pitch, moved it off, and by the time he went back to his crease, somebody threw a couple more jellybeans at the same spot. Thats what pissed him off.. so not Matt, if you want to explain it, do it properly, or say I dont know. All he's doing is branding Zaheer a liar and trying to get the monkey off his back. Not everyone forgets these things after 6 months. Why didnt he clarify this earlier?