England's Ashes Squad- Prior's Understudy

So after selecting a credible list of batsman, and with the addition of Andrew Flintoff England’s possible Ashes squad looks in good shape.

The next stage is to add a wicket keeper, for which Matt Prior has occupied the position for sometime in the side.

However for this England squad, in what is set to be a long summer a second keeper could be needed if nothing else to keep Prior on his toes.

England are blessed with a number of up and coming keepers, for which there skills are currently being displayed in this years county championship, and here are the contenders;

James Foster (Essex)
Pros: Stared behind the stumps for England in the recent Twenty20 World Cup with some quick work with the gloves. Has previous experience against Australia after appearing in Melbourne for the side before injury began a seven-year run without an International appearance.
Cons: His last test match appearance came seven years ago, so he’s hardly got a whole lot of experience under his belt. His in-ability to score with the bat for his country will be a concern as well. He struggled to pick up the run-rate during the recent world cup, but as he would appear mostly as an understudy keeping him in the set up has its advantages.

Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire)
Pros: Was at one time the first choice keeper for England until bad form struck the teams progress, and Ambrose was a victim of a re-vamp. His ability with the gloves has never been called into question, with 31 dismissals in 11 matches to his name, but other areas of his game might mean he’ll miss out in this squad.
Cons: Just the single century when playing against the likes of New Zealand and the West Indies, two of the weaker test playing nations is not favourable and with the current mindset instilled in the England selectors, who are more likely to pick multi-skilled keepers Ambrose always looks like he might miss out. However he is the most experienced keeper remaining, and if Prior was to become injured at any point his previous performances might stand him in good stead.

Steven Davies (Worcestershire)
Pros: The most prized asset in County Cricket right now, and a certain England player of the future. He’s currently subject of bid by Surrey after the player made it known he wished to move on in his career. His two hundreds in County Cricket already show his true potential.
Cons: Selectors have made mistakes calling up the likes of Foster and Chris Read too early in their careers and both have since struggled. They will be wary about doing the same with Davies. He may be given more time in County Cricket for now, but be sure to listen out for this impressive keeper-batsman.

All three contenders are at different stages of their career, and in terms of a realistic call up only Foster and Ambrose are looking towards Monday’s squad announcement.

For me the England team need a new breed of players, and picking Ambrose in this squad for me would be the easy way out.

Foster had such a good time of it during this year’s World Cup that it could be hard to leave him out, and I’ve always been a fan of keeping a core of players throughout every England squad.

It’s a tough call for me, but I’d give Foster the edge, if nothing else because I believe he’s the better wicket-keeper and maybe that above all other factors is the important issue when talking about Prior’s number two.