Flintoff Hunts Batting Key As Prior Nears the Stewart Standard

The scene was set for a Freddie spectacular: a bright blue sky, a red ball, fresh from its wrapper, that would surely ping off the bat even on this sluggish surface. With a fair wind and a few mighty blows, Andrew Flintoff's market price in these volatile times might go up a hundred thousand dollars or so in the imminent IPL auction.

It may be that his value had dipped after his efforts on the first day. On Wednesday Flintoff batted responsibly but crabbily. If he had chosen to play more aggressively, the suspicion lingered that he would get out. His was a humble effort: "Sorry, I'm not in good enough nick to play any differently." We were not in IPL territory.

In any case his doggedness suited England's needs. At first Flintoff was a passive support for Kevin Pietersen and, as the sun fell, he dutifully played for the close, with the hope that he might cause mayhem in the morning. But he could not add a single against that alluring new ball. A limp cut shot ended in the hands of Brendan Nash. Even worse, Nash had to display some patience waiting for the ball to arrive.

Flintoff's rehabilitation to Test cricket, though wholly justified, is uneven. Somehow, provided the body is not rebelling, he can pound up to the crease, propel the ball at 90mph in the right direction as if he has been doing that uninterrupted for the last 12 months. And, if clubbed for six second ball, as he was by Gayle yesterday, he is inclined to bowl faster still. With the ball Flintoff seems able to perform superbly without much practice in match conditions.

But this does not apply to his batting. Fluency has yet to be restored. At present the crisp hitting days are a memory. Time at the crease is invaluable but he is still waiting for it all to click. In the meantime he blocks, a juggernaut that cannot get out of third gear.

For fluency and clean hitting England had to look to Matt Prior, comfortably England's second best batsman in their innings. Half close your eyes and there is his agent and mentor at the crease. Prior must have watched Alec Stewart in his youth and, wittingly or not, he has developed many of "The Gaffer's" old mannerisms.

There is the no-nonsense march to the wicket, the creases of his shirt glistening with military precision. After a crisp boundary there is a vaguely disdainful glance down the pitch at the bowler. If he has to run, the bat is held on a dapper horizontal plane just like Stewart's. Prior may favor the area square on the off-side more than Stewart and he is unable to pull the ball through the leg‑side so deliciously as his mentor but the ­similarities are unmistakable.

There are a few things Prior needs to work on to match Stewart. He does not twiddle his bat with the same élan between deliveries. Nor has he mastered the tuck of the bat under the shoulder with the simultaneous removal of his gloves upon dismissal. Yesterday Prior in his exasperation loitered just a little too long when ­Sulieman Benn accepted a return catch. Prior, it seems, forgot that you need a lot of elevation to hit the ball over Benn's head.

The other area requiring improvement if he is to satisfy the Stewart standard is his wicket keeping. By the end Stewart, who began his England career in the Caribbean in 1990 as a specialist batsman, was a highly capable keeper.

And if he made a mistake he was so cute at disguising the fact. With the confidence of runs behind him, Prior should improve, to allow us all to concentrate on other selectorial conundrums.

Finally, a less likely comparison with one of the great players of the recent past: close the eyes again and can you spy Marcus Trescothick when Ryan Sidebottom is at the crease? Watch how the noble Sidebottom sets himself up in his stance. His trigger movements – you know about them since the Guardian's acquisition of Duncan Fletcher – are almost identical to the Somerset opener's. However, once the ball has been released, the parallel does not hold up quite as well.