Prior: Praise from Pietersen

He was brilliant but the thing I'm trying to tell Matty ... is that's great to be on top of a wave, but you've got to try to get to that level where you're cool, you're calm and you're responsible and you deliver day in and day out.

Pietersen on Prior
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• Matthew Prior

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• Nasser Hussain
• Mike Atherton
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Matt Prior hopes he has made the first strides towards convincing his new captain Kevin Pietersen that he is the man to solve England's long-term wicketkeeping problem.

The Sussex star enjoyed the best all-round day of his international career as he hit an unbeaten 45 and took six catches as England romped to a 10-wicket victory over South Africa in the NatWest Series at Trent Bridge.

Prior's efforts behind the stumps, which included a stunning diving catch to remove captain Graeme Smith, helped England dismiss South Africa for a lowly 83.

His agility helped him equal Alec Stewart's England record of six catches in a one-day international and may finally have answered those critics who believe his glovework is not up to international standard.

But new captain Pietersen is not among those detractors and is hopeful Prior can now cement his place having seen enough during the last week or so to suggest he is now ready for the big stage.

"He was brilliant but the thing I'm trying to tell Matty and drum into him and the young players is that's great to be on top of a wave, but you've got to try to get to that level where you're cool, you're calm and you're responsible and you deliver day in and day out," said Pietersen.

"Matty is in a really good place at the moment. When he was left out he didn't open his mouth or anything, he just went back to the drawing board at Sussex and has done a fantastic job there.

Headache

"He's turned up back here with us as a different bloke and he's been brilliant. Fair play to the guy because he could have gone away and felt sorry for himself but he's gone away and scored hundred after hundred for Sussex.

"I was pleased he finished not out with six catches. It's brilliant because it has been a headache for however long with our wicketkeeper, but let's hope it stays good because he's a hell of a batsman."

Pietersen's new side are now 2-0 up in the five-match series as both sides prepare to meet again at The Oval on Friday.

South Africa intend to use the next few days to regroup having begun the series as firm favourites following nine successive one-day international victories which put them on the brink of toppling Australia as the world's top one-day side.

Followed their Test series success, captain Smith conceded: "We came off such a high in the Test series, some of the best moments in my career, and this is right down there in terms of the lowest.

"We have to regroup pretty quickly, take this blow on the chin, come back from it and play our kind of cricket - your confidence can take a big dent when you lose like this."

The tourists' problems are compounded by Smith suffering from an injury to his right elbow, which he has been struggling with for some time and could make him doubtful for Friday's encounter.

"It's reaching the point right now for me - I probably shouldn't have played in this game - where we look to the medical team and see if we can come up with something," he said.