11:30am Friday 3rd July 2009
By Steve Hollis
Matt Prior claims England can take a leaf out of Sussex’s book in their bid to win back the Ashes.
The wicketkeeper believes team spirit will be the key to overcoming Australia in the five-match series which starts at Cardiff on Wednesday.
Prior has been preparing with the England squad for the last two weeks and says the togetherness in the camp is reminiscent of when Sussex won back-to-back County Championship titles in 2006 and 2007.
That was not the case just six months ago following the ugly bust-up between captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores.
Ironically Moores was the coach who was instrumental in giving Prior the chance to establish himself at Test level.
His departure so close to the Ashes was initially viewed as a hammer blow to England’s hopes of beating the Australians but Prior says new coach Andy Flower and skipper Andrew Strauss have created a strong bond in the dressing room which could prove crucial this summer.
Prior said: “The squad is very tight at the moment. We have just carried on from the West Indies series and everybody is really confident and looking forward to the series starting.
“Everybody is enjoying everyone else’s success and team spirit like that is rare. I remember feeling this way at Sussex when we were winning Championships so hopefully we can have similar success.
“If we can keep that team spirit for five Test matches and all pull together in the same direction that will be the key. I think we have got a great chance.”
Prior was an interested spectator at Hove last week when Australia toiled for four days in drawing their opening tour match against Sussex.
Some observers have described the tourists as the weakest Australia team for years due to the absence of match-winners like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist.
But Prior has warned against writing off Ricky Ponting’s men and knows England will have to be at their very best if they are to repeat their unforgetable success of 2005.
Prior said: “There is a lot of talk about them and their squad not being as good as in previous years but we’ve got to forget about that and concentrate on what we do.
“I popped down to Hove to watch a bit of the game last week after getting back from Belgium with England. I went along to see some of their bowlers in action and also managed to race over to see Hoppo (Carl Hopkinson) score his century.
“People can say what they like but all I know is that any Australian team is always going to be tough to beat and they won’t give up the Ashes without a fight.
“We know we will have to be at our best throughout the series if we are going to win but we are in a fantastic place as a squad and everybody is very positive that we can pull it off.”
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