Kieswetter: pushing Prior will help team

(PA)

Craig Kieswetter believes any pressure he can exert on Matt Prior, the incumbent wicketkeeper, can only be of benefit to the England side.

Like Prior, Kieswetter is South Africa-born, blessed with ample confidence and an aggressive stroke-maker. The Somerset player, who only became England-eligible last week, was hastily promoted to the one-day squad for Bangladesh after some eye-catching displays for the England Lions, but he is keen not to be left carrying the drinks.

"I think Matt Prior is doing a great job, he's taking England keeping up a level," Kieswetter said yesterday. "Competition can be seen as a positive thing for English cricket. Maybe it's a good thing for younger players to be coming through and putting pressure on the guys."

His eagerness to play attacking shots from the off, combined with a hitting power which enables him to make full use of the early fielding restrictions in limited-overs cricket, has resulted in Kieswetter being touted as a ready-made solution to England's opening struggles. "I'm very surprised but very excited about this opportunity. I wasn't expecting it at all," said the 22-year-old. "I'm really chuffed to be coming in but there are butterflies and nerves going around."

Kieswetter is expected to play, but not keep wicket, against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a 50-over warm-up in Dhaka today.