Prior revels in England pressure

Prior praised his team-mates after England's revival at Trent Bridge

Matt Prior said he had thrived on the pressure as he made a century that set England on course for a resounding victory over Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

Prior entered the fray with England in trouble after Pakistan had torn through their top order.

But the wicketkeeper made 102 not out as England took total control of the first Test and declared on 262-9.

"It's something I embrace rather than turn away from or get nervous about," said the Sussex wicketkeeper.

"I've not played a day for England as batsman-keeper not under pressure. I'm very used to it, and actually enjoy it and thrive on it. It probably brings the best out of me."

Earlier, Umar Gul's career-best 65 not out had helped Pakistan save the follow-on and he added a burst of three wickets for seven runs as England's top order folded.

With a first-innings lead of 172 already in the bag, Prior was required to prove his worth again with the bat, which he did with seven fours and two sixes from 136 balls.

Even after losing Eoin Morgan in a run-out mix-up to make it 98-6, Prior stood firm and helped set Pakistan what would be a world record of 435 in their second innings to win the first Test.

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Two wickets in three balls from Stuart Broad then helped to reduce Pakistan to 15-3, leaving the tourists facing a pride-salvaging operation on the scheduled penultimate day on Sunday.

"I went in in a position where the team needed me to get stuck in and get some runs," Prior added. "Luckily I was able to do that, and that's the thing I'm most pleased about today.

"I'm very determined and want to play for England as long as possible."

Prior was dropped from the limited-overs teams in favour of Craig Kieswetter, but he staked his claim for future Test places with a fine performance under difficult conditions.

"It was tricky," he said. "When the cloud was over, it was swinging and seaming quite a bit. By the time I went in the guys had taken a lot of the shine off the ball, so it was far easier.

"But watching earlier on, it looked very hard work."

Prior was indebted to a clutch of tail-end partners, including number 11 Steve Finn who remained unbeaten for 50 minutes to help him move from 63 to three figures.

The Sussex man said he had confidence in the Middlesex player having played against him at county level.

"He did such a fantastic job, not only in the way he played but what he contributed to the partnership in between overs," said Prior. "He did all I could have expected of him, and more."

Broad and James Anderson also came in for praise from Prior.

"The way the guys responded when we took the ball at the end for that 20 minutes there summed up the day for us, and sums up this team," he said.

"It puts us in a very strong position."

However, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has seen his team recover from a 1-0 deficit to Australia this summer and warned they will not surrender.

"It seems very, very hard from here on," he said. "But we won against Australia at Headingley to level a two-Test series. We are a very fine side, and I've got no doubt that they can make a comeback."

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