1. Matthew James Prior was born on 26 February 1982 and is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket.
82 Facts About Matt Prior
1. 2.
Matt Prior was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed batting enabled him to open the innings in ODI matches, even though he made very limited appearances in shorter forms of the game.
3.
Matt Prior returned for the 2008 series against South Africa, and was retained into 2009, where he became the second-fastest England keeper to reach 1,000 Test runs, behind Les Ames.
4.
Matt Prior retired in June 2015 from all forms of professional cricket due to a recurring Achilles tendon injury.
5.
Matt Prior was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to England with his family at the age of 11.
6.
Matt Prior's mother is South African and his father is English.
7.
Matt Prior attended Brighton College during which time he began playing for Sussex County Cricket Club.
8.
Matt Prior was the co-owner and chief executive of One Pro Cycling, which raced at the UCI Continental level in 2015, and were promoted to the second-tier Professional Continental level for 2016.
9.
Matt Prior received the NBC Denis Compton Award for young cricketers three times in his career.
10.
Matt Prior has hit more than 1,000 first-class runs over the course of two seasons, in 2003 when Matt Prior won the County Championship with Sussex, and 2004, when his 1,158 runs, including 201 not out against Loughborough UCCE, was enough to be top-scorer for Sussex that season.
11.
In 2005 Matt Prior made fewer runs, with 874, but became Sussex's first choice wicket-keeper again after having shared duties with Tim Ambrose in the two previous seasons.
12.
Matt Prior has won the County Championship three times although in 2007 Matt Prior did not take part as much as before due to his England duties.
13.
Matt Prior made his One Day International debut in England's one-day series against Zimbabwe in 2004: he was chosen to open with Ian Bell and made 35 before he was dismissed by Ed Rainsford in a 74-run win.
14.
Matt Prior was next selected in the England team a year later for the ODI series against Pakistan.
15.
Matt Prior made 2 in the third ODI before making 6 in the fourth match as England lost the game by 13 runs.
16.
Matt Prior kept his place in the ODI squad for the series against India.
17.
Matt Prior batted well in the first game, making 22 as England lost by 39 runs.
18.
Matt Prior made 33 in the next game but England again lost, this time by a smaller margin.
19.
Matt Prior was run out while on 37 in the next game as England suffered yet another defeat.
20.
Matt Prior did not play in the fifth game of the series, although returned for the sixth, batting lower down the order.
21.
Matt Prior was chosen ahead of Paul Nixon for the keeper's spot for the first Test of the summer at Lord's in 2007 against the West Indies.
22.
Matt Prior scored a hundred on his debut, taking just 105 deliveries and hitting 16 boundaries after coming in at number 7, and finishing on 126 not out.
23.
Matt Prior became the first England wicket keeper to score a Test hundred on debut and the 17th English batsman to record the feat overall.
24.
Matt Prior was one of four centurions in the innings along with Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell.
25.
Matt Prior continued his impressive form into the next game, making 75 as England secured a victory on an innings and 283 runs.
26.
Matt Prior again starred in the next game, making 40, although he was dismissed for a duck in the second innings as England won the game by 60 runs.
27.
Matt Prior scored his first ODI fifty against the West Indies, making 52 in the second ODI at Edgbaston.
28.
England lost the final game of the series by 93 runs, with Matt Prior being dismissed for a single.
29.
Matt Prior made 34 in the next game as England won by 42 runs.
30.
Matt Prior struggled in the final two matches of the series, making a score of six in the penultimate game and being dismissed for a duck in the final game of the series.
31.
Matt Prior was selected to play in Sri Lanka in the Test series.
32.
Matt Prior put some critics to rest with this and with his efforts in the second match of the tour at Colombo, when he scored 79, which was the backbone of England's first innings score, and ended the series with the third highest batting average for England, 41.25.
33.
Matt Prior returned to the international scene firstly in the One Day International series against South Africa, after missing home and away series against New Zealand.
34.
Matt Prior made an unbeaten 45 and took six catches in the next match as England secured a ten wicket victory.
35.
Matt Prior continued his good form into the third game of the series to help England win by over 100 runs after hitting 33.
36.
Matt Prior was out for a duck in the fourth game of the series before the fifth match was abandoned due to rain.
37.
Matt Prior kept his place in the ODI side for the tour of India.
38.
Matt Prior made four in the first match of the series as England lost by 158 runs.
39.
Matt Prior made a patience 38 in the next game but England again lost, this time by 54 runs.
40.
Matt Prior moved down the order for the final three games of series, but failed to make an impact.
41.
Matt Prior was recalled for the Test series between the two sides and batted well in the first match, making an unbeaten 53 in the first innings and hitting 33 in England's second innings.
42.
Matt Prior had little impact in the next match, scoring two in England's first innings and was not needed to bat in the second as the match ended in a draw.
43.
However, with his wife due to give birth, Matt Prior returned to England to witness the birth, with Ambrose deputising.
44.
Matt Prior retained his place in the Test side for the 2009 Ashes, despite James Foster's apparently superior ability behind the sticks, as displayed to much acclaim during the World Twenty20.
45.
Matt Prior had done well with the bat for Sussex in the County Championship, averaging over fifty, but had not kept wicket due to a hand injury sustained against the West Indies.
46.
Batting at number six, Matt Prior continued his good form with the bat into the Ashes series, scoring a 62-ball 56 in the first innings at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff as England's middle- and lower-order boosted England to 435 all out, and 14 in the second innings as England held on for an improbable draw.
47.
Matt Prior added a 29-ball 22 in the second innings, sharing a century partnership with Stuart Broad, but could not avert an innings defeat.
48.
Matt Prior was a key member of the squad that toured South Africa.
49.
Matt Prior played in the first three ODIs, although he did not bat until the third match, where he made 16.
50.
Matt Prior took two catches as England won the fourth match convincingly.
51.
Matt Prior struggled in the first Test, making a duck in the first innings and just 4 in the second.
52.
England went on to win the second test, with Matt Prior making 60 off 81 balls.
53.
Matt Prior's attacking play helped England accelerate the innings and secure a comfortable victory.
54.
Matt Prior made 76 in the third test, again scoring quickly as England secured a dramatic draw.
55.
Matt Prior had been one of the senior figures in an experimental team.
56.
England won the series and Matt Prior consolidated himself in the team.
57.
Matt Prior started the series with a golden duck, the second victim of Peter Siddle's hat-trick on the first day of the series.
58.
Matt Prior only managed a top-score of 27 not out in the first three Tests, however he finished strongly in the final two.
59.
Matt Prior was the third centurion of England's innings, along with Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, as England scored 644.
60.
Matt Prior played in the test series against Sri Lanka, as he continued to establish himself as a key player.
61.
Matt Prior made 126 in the second game after not having to bat in the first test.
62.
Matt Prior hit 71 and 103 in the first test as he continued to stake a claim for being the best wicket keeper batsman in the world.
63.
Matt Prior failed to make an impact in either innings as England were bowled out for 72 in their second innings.
64.
Matt Prior was stranded on 49 not out in the second innings.
65.
England won the second match to level the series, with Matt Prior taking four catches and making 11 runs.
66.
Matt Prior made 60 in the first innings, leaving England in a strong position.
67.
However, South Africa made over 600 and although Matt Prior made 40 in the second innings, England were bowled out on the final day to lose by an innings and 12 runs.
68.
Matt Prior made 68 in the first innings of the second test.
69.
Matt Prior gave England hope, making 73 and batting well with Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad.
70.
Matt Prior was promoted to vice-captain of the test side following Andrew Strauss' retirement and Alastair Cook subsequently being made captain.
71.
Matt Prior was in top form as England toured New Zealand at the back end of 2012.
72.
Matt Prior scored ducks in both innings, although England went on to win the game.
73.
Matt Prior was not at his best in the first two Ashes tests, making a high score of 31.
74.
Matt Prior made his 200th catch for England during the 4th test in Durham, and he is third in test dismissals all time behind Alan Knott and Alec Stewart.
75.
Matt Prior had an indifferent start to the return series in Australia.
76.
Matt Prior followed this up with an impressive 69 in the second Test.
77.
However, in the third test of the series Matt Prior again struggled for form, failing to pass fifty, meaning he had just one fifty in six innings on the tour.
78.
Matt Prior made 86 in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka after almost being given out first ball.
79.
Matt Prior made 16 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw.
80.
Matt Prior made just five in the first Test against India, although he took six catches behind the stumps.
81.
Matt Prior played in the second test despite fitness concerns, but could only make scores of 13 and 12.
82.
England lost the match and Matt Prior later announced that he would be undergoing an operation on his Achilles, ruling him out for the rest of the series.