Woeful Prior a liability claims Chappell

After struggling through the npower Test series against India — dropping catches and posting low scores — Prior, 25, has been dismissed as "woeful" by Ian Chappell.

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The respected former Australia captain has seen enough to argue that England will not regain the Ashes with the Sussex player in their team — even taking a swipe at coach Peter Moores in the process.

Two costly fumbles and a firstinnings duck in the series finale at The Oval have seen Prior's position come under scrutiny following a dazzling debut against the West Indies in May when he scored a century at Lord's.

Despite Prior being renowned for his self-belief, Chappell's outspoken attack will do little to raise his battered morale.

"I cannot see how England are going to win against decent sides with a wicketkeeper who is woeful," said Chappell, 63. "Matthew Prior is so far off being an international wicketkeeper at Test level. In one-day matches he'll probably be terrific and that's fine, but Tests? Forget it.

"An old skipper of mine, Les Favell, said that once a wicketkeeper starts costing you games he's got to go. Matthew Prior is in that category.

"England have got to seriously look at how they judge wicketkeepers because they are making huge mistakes. What we've seen lately with Geraint Jones and Matt Prior just isn't going to work. They got very lucky in the Ashes in 2005 but they've got to revisit the way they select wicketkeepers.

"No way in the world are they going to win against Australia with a wicketkeeper like that. He's going to let somebody off — Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke — and boy you're going to pay heavily for that."

Rounding on Moores, a former keeper himself, Chappell added: "It's an indictment on the current England coach. I'm told he's had Prior since the Under 13s and if that's the footwork from that coach from under 13 to now, they've got a problem."

Prior will be well aware that critics are now scrutinising his every move. He will know that a few more errors in the forthcoming one-day NatWest Series would re-awaken the perennial debate about England's wicketkeeping position but he is trying to take it all in his stride.

"This week has been the hardest week in my cricketing life, without a shadow of a doubt," he told BBC Sport. "My performance has been criticised but I am still learning. Mistakes do happen — we're all human. I am my own biggest critic but I don't feel I suddenly have to criticise or scrutinise myself massively."

Moores, who spent years coaching Prior at Sussex before becoming national academy director en route to the England job, feels sympathy for his protege but recognises that he faces a daunting test of character in the coming weeks.

However, he sensed the first signs of a revival in the latter stages of the match at The Oval.

"In the second innings he started to come out of himself,' said the England coach. 'I thought he kept well and lifted the team. He showed real fight and resilience and then for him to be there at the end (scoring 12 not out) was a real feather in his cap.

"It's a tough place to play your cricket if you make mistakes. The key is whether he bounces back. He can look back on the summer and say he has a Test match average close to 40 and he kept pretty well.

"He's made some mistakes but he's learning and he's getting better at this environment. The challenge is whether he becomes mentally stronger. If he does, and he gets through Sri Lanka as well, then he can start to become one of those nuggety Test match cricketers that everybody wants."