Prior plays down Ashes’ Down Under curse for England wicketkeepers

PERTH - England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has said that he is not bothered by the Down Under Ashes curse, where no Three Lions’ wicketkeeper has kept his place in the side for all five Tests of the series since Steve Rhodes in 1994.

In 1998-99, England began with Alec Stewart, but opted for Warren Hegg for the last two Tests.

In 2002-03, Stewart had to pull out of the Boxing Day Test with a bruised hand, and was replaced by James Foster.

Last time around, in 2006-07, Geraint Jones was replaced by Chris Read in the Tests held at Melbourne and Sydney.

When asked if he was aware of the threat, Prior said: “I’ve not given it one minute’s thought. The reality of professional sport is if you perform, you’ll play”.

“It’s not something I’ll lose much sleep about. I know that if I’m moving well and taking chances that come my way the bowlers will be happy and it’s all fine,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Prior, as saying.

“At that stage, it was very much a case of focusing on the present, making sure that going into the next series I was the in the best nick I possibly could be,” he added.

Prior currently has a Test average of 42.13, which is higher than that of his counterpart, Brad Haddin (38.62), and Australian batsmen Shane Watson (39.94) and Marcus North (37.40). (ANI)