2004–2006 Zimbabwe, Pakistan and India 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. Prior was next selected in the England team a year later for the
ODI series against Pakistan. In the opening match of the series he made 45 while opening the batting as England won the match by 42 runs. In the next match he made 32 but England lost the game by seven wickets to leave the series level at 1–1. Despite his good start to the series, Prior struggled in the next three games. He made 2 in the third ODI before making 6 in the fourth match as England lost the game by 13 runs. England won the final match of the series, although Prior could only manage 9 runs. The series finished 3–2 to Pakistan. Prior kept his place in the ODI squad for the
series against India. Prior batted well in the first game, making 22 as England lost by 39 runs. He made 33 in the next game but England again lost, this time by a smaller margin. He was run out while on 37 in the next game as England suffered yet another defeat. In the fourth game of the series Prior made 14 as England lost again, this time by four wickets. Prior did not play in the fifth game of the series, although returned for the sixth, batting lower down the order. He made 3 as England won by five wickets. In the final game of the series England lost again, this time by seven wickets, with Prior contributing just two towards England's score.
2007 West Indies 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. He 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. He became the first England wicket keeper to score a Test hundred on debut and the 17th English batsman to record the feat overall. Although both
Paul Gibb and
Billy Griffith scored debut centuries, and although both were wicket-keepers, neither was actually keeping wicket in their debut Test. The last wicketkeeper to make a half century on debut was
Jack Russell, who scored 94 against Sri Lanka at Lords in 1988. Prior was one of four centurions in the innings along with
Alastair Cook,
Paul Collingwood and
Ian Bell. It was the first time since 1938 that four England players scored hundreds in the same innings of a Test match. but decided to continue after speaking with
Alec Stewart. He remained in the side for the return
tour of England by the West Indies and reached 1,000 Test runs with 42 in the first innings of the First Test – the second-fastest England wicketkeeper to this mark, behind
Les Ames. In the second Test Prior made 63 in the first innings to help England win the game by an innings and 83 runs and clinch the series 2–0.
2009 Ashes He 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. 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. Batting at number six, 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. In the
Lord's victory Prior was bowled for 8 in the first innings as England subsided from 302 for 3 (
Andrew Strauss 161) to 425 all out, but contributed a 42-ball 61 in the second innings as England sought quick runs; his partnership with
Paul Collingwood added 86 runs in twelve overs. At
Edgbaston he scored 41 in England's only innings in a drawn match, and held three catches in each of Australia's innings. Despite suffering from back spasms before the start of the first day, raising doubts as to his fitness to play, Prior offered a lone hand in the first innings at
Headingley, scoring 37 not out as England subsided to 102 all out against Australia's seam attack; Prior aside, only
Alastair Cook (30) reached double figures. He added a 29-ball 22 in the second innings, sharing a century partnership with
Stuart Broad, but could not avert an innings defeat. At
the Oval Prior scored only 18 and 4, but produced a sharp stumping on the final day to dismiss
Marcus North as England surged to a 197-run victory in the match and a 2–1 victory in the series, thus regaining the Ashes. Prior's series aggregate of 262 runs was higher than any other England player bar
Andrew Strauss; his runs had been scored at a
Gilchrist-esque strike-rate of 82 per hundred balls.
South Africa Prior was a key member of the squad that toured South Africa. He played in the first three ODIs, although he did not bat until the third match, where he made 16. He took two catches as England won the fourth match convincingly. After the final match was abandoned, England won the series 2–1. Prior struggled in the first Test, making a duck in the first innings and just 4 in the second. England went on to win the second test, with Prior making 60 off 81 balls. His attacking play helped England accelerate the innings and secure a comfortable victory. Prior made 76 in the third test, again scoring quickly as England secured a dramatic draw. South Africa won the final Test to level the series 1–1. Throughout the series Prior was praised for his wicketkeeping and counterattacking batting.
Bangladesh and Pakistan In the first test against Bangladesh Prior could only make 7 runs, although England went on to win the match. He hit a quick fire 62 in the second test as England went on to win the series 2–0. Prior had been one of the senior figures in an experimental team. In the return series, Prior was run out in the first game having made 16. In the following match he made a quick fire 93 which helped to accelerate the innings and guide England to a comfortable win. In the controversial test series against Pakistan, Prior struggled to make an impact in the first two games, recording low scores. However, he made an unbeaten 84 in the third test, which proved to be in vain as England ended up losing the match. England won the series and Prior consolidated himself in the team.
2010–11 Ashes Prior was ever-present in the Test side in England's successful
2010–11 Ashes Series in Australia. He started the series with a
golden duck, the second victim of
Peter Siddle's hat-trick on the first day of the series. He only managed a top-score of 27 not out in the first three Tests, however he finished strongly in the final two. In the fourth Test at the
MCG, he held six catches in Australia's first innings as they were bowled out for just 98. He followed this up with 85 runs as England won by an innings to take a 2–1 series lead and retain the Ashes with a Test to spare. In the fifth and final Test he scored his first century against Australia from 109 balls, the fastest English Ashes century since
Ian Botham's 118 at
Old Trafford in
1981. He was the third centurion of England's innings, along with
Alastair Cook and
Ian Bell, as England scored 644.
Sri Lanka and India Prior played in the test series against Sri Lanka, as he continued to establish himself as a key player. He made 126 in the second game after not having to bat in the first test. In a rain affected match, Prior only made 4, but he did take five catches as England won the series 1–0. This meant that England had the chance to become the number one ranked test team when they played India. 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. He made another score of 73 in the second test, as England took a 2–0 lead in the series. England went on to win the series 4–0, and became the number one team in the world.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka In the first Test against Pakistan, Prior held the first innings together, making 70 not out to help England reach 192. In the second innings Prior could only make 4 as England again struggled with the bat, being bowled out for 160 and losing the match by 10 wickets. In the second test England again lost, this time by 72 runs. Prior failed to make an impact in either innings as England were bowled out for 72 in their second innings. In the third match of the series, England bowled Pakistan out for 99 runs in their first innings. However, after England collapsed, they lost the match by 71 runs. Prior was stranded on 49 not out in the second innings. In the first match against Sri Lanka, Prior batted at 6. However, despite making 41 in the second innings, England went on to lose their fourth straight Test match. England won the second match to level the series, with Prior taking four catches and making 11 runs. This meant that they retained their number one spot in the rankings.
South Africa England played South Africa in the summer of 2012, with the winner of the series becoming the number one test team. Prior made 60 in the first innings, leaving England in a strong position. However, South Africa made over 600 and although Prior made 40 in the second innings, England were bowled out on the final day to lose by an innings and 12 runs. Prior made 68 in the first innings of the second test. With England chasing 252 to win, Prior batted at 5 to try and force a result. However, he was run out when on 7 and the match eventually ended in a draw. England lost the final match of the series. After South Africa posted 351 in their second innings, England were set 346 to win. Prior gave England hope, making 73 and batting well with Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad. However, it was not enough and England were bowled out by 294, losing the series 2–0 and their number one spot. Prior had an indifferent start to the return series in Australia. In the first Test he scored just four runs. He followed this up with an impressive 69 in the second Test. However, in the third test of the series Prior again struggled for form, failing to pass fifty, meaning he had just one fifty in six innings on the tour. With England 3–0 down in the series in Australia, Prior was dropped in favour of
Jonny Bairstow. However England still lost the following tests in Melbourne and Sydney as Australia won the series 5–0.
Sri Lanka and India Prior made 86 in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka after almost being given out first ball. He made 16 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw. In the second match of the series Prior made an unbeaten 27 after batting with the tail. In the next innings he was dismissed for 10 after being caught off a short ball. Prior made just five in the first Test against India, although he took six catches behind the stumps. He played in the second test despite fitness concerns, but could only make scores of 13 and 12. England lost the match and Prior later announced that he would be undergoing an operation on his Achilles, ruling him out for the rest of the series. ==Notes==