Matt Prior calls for patience on final day

10 April 2012

Matt Prior has called for patience as England try to force victory on day five of the first Test at Lord's and hopes a "silly hour" can undermine India's hopes.

England had suffered just that on the fourth morning, slumping from 54 for one to 62 for five as Ishant Sharma bowled what looked to be a match-altering spell.

But Prior performed a crucial rescue act, scoring a measured 103 not out to steer his side to 269 for six declared alongside Stuart Broad (74no).

The tourists' response of 80 for one left them a mammoth 378 away from victory, but Prior believes the pitch remains batsman-friendly and England must bide their time for an Indian wobble.

"India's batting line-up is pretty strong and the ball might not be swinging around and seaming around like the first innings," he said.

"We might go an hour without taking a wicket but hopefully we'll have one of those silly hours where we'll take three or four. There are no devils in the wicket, it's still a pretty good deck and there are a huge amount of runs there, certainly when the ball gets a bit older.

"Graeme Swann's going to play a huge part for us and there is a lot of hard work ahead."

Prior admitted he had been taken aback by England's own collapse but, with six Test centuries to his name and 71 in the first innings, the wicketkeeper is fast becoming a reliable performer in all situations.

"I wasn't really expecting to be batting before lunch. I was looking at the menu and thinking 'I'll have the rack of lamb, that'll be nice' and then there I was taking guard," he said.

"The first thing was to try and build a partnership, settle everything down because the crowd was noisy, the Indian fielders were up for it and Ishant was bowling very well. I felt pretty nervous walking out there to be honest. But what's not to love about Lord's? It's a flat deck, a quick outfield and the sun always shines on me whenever I walk out to bat."

India are hoping fitness problems do not hamper their efforts today, with concerns over three players.

Gautam Gambhir could not open the batting yesterday but should be fit to bat after a blow to the elbow while fielding, Zaheer Khan (hamstring) may be forced to bat with a runner and Sachin Tendulkar missed two sessions in the field with a viral infection.

The 'Little Master', of course, still has an outside chance of bringing up his hundredth international century at the home of cricket, but rules dictate after his absence yesterday he faces a wait before being allowed to bat.

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