Former England international Matt Prior sat down with IndiaBetting and talked about England’s chances at the T20 World Cup, his favourites for the title as well as the Ashes set to take place in Australia this year.
Matt Prior: Someone needs to step up in Stokes and Archer’s absence in World Cup
“It’s a different team if you take Stokes and Archer out of any side, they’re both world-class players in all formats in any particular T20s and they’re great to have in the dressing room, you’d want to have them on your team.”
“It’s not a surprise or sudden that Stokes and Archer aren’t there so they’ve had time to prepare. It gives someone else the opportunity to be a hero, which will be exciting for the players.”
“England have lots of very talented cricketers in that team and it’s about which one of them wants to stand up and do what Ben Stokes did during the summer of his life when he won the World Cup and nearly single-handedly saved the Ashes.”
Matt Prior: England are my favourites
“I make England the favourites to win and closely followed by India. I want England to win the World Cup and I’ll always back them, India are going to be the biggest challenge to that.”
Matt Prior: 2016 World Cup final heartache will comfort England and give them motivation this year
“I don’t think 2016 will be a negative factor for England. I think it will serve as motivation and make them hungry. It will give them a lot of confidence because they know they have got to a final before.”
“They fell at the very last hurdle but it’s something they can do, the pathway and experience is there. If and when they get to the final, they’ll be excited to go out and get stuck into the game.”
Matt Prior: ‘Disrespectful’ Paine has put a target on his back
“I’ve played against him (Tim Paine) a few times and he’s a nice guy, so it’s quite surprising to see what he’s been saying because it goes against him as a character. He’s got a target on his back now.”
“The Barmy Army have already pointed out that Joe Root has almost scored more runs this year than Tim has in his entire career, and those are the things that nobody would have even looked at if Tim Paine doesn’t say the things that he does. He’s made them now and he’s got a target on his back, but he’s the Australian captain so he’s always going to have a target on his back. He’ll have his own reasons for doing that.”
“The Ashes are unique and everyone gets a bit carried away and it can all get a bit ridiculous, it always has and we know how it works. For one captain to show a fair bit of disdain and disrespect to another captain is not what anyone wants to see.”
“Of course England have a chance of winning Down Under. It’s going to come down to whether they can score enough runs and put enough runs on the board to get ahead of the game and give the bowlers an opportunity to take 20 wickets.”
“Like all these big series, starting well in the first Test and setting the tone for what’s to come will be really crucial.”
