London, Apr 1 (ANI): England wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who was axed from the 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies, has promised to fight for his place after admitting that it was a bitter pill to be dumped.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) called up Hampshire opening batsman Michael Lumb and Somerset wicketkeeper batsman Craig Kieswetter into final squad for next month’s World Twenty20 Cup in the Caribbean.

There is no place for Matt Prior, who loses his wicket-keeping slot to Kieswetter. Prior has not been dropped for his keeping abilities, but because of his failure to score consistent runs in one-day cricket.

Prior said: “I’m not the sort of guy who walks around feeling sorry for himself or making excuses, but I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t hurt.

“I want to be involved in every form of the game and it will be hard for me to watch somebody else keeping wicket for us in the Caribbean when I’ve worked so hard to improve my own game,” The Mirror quoted Prior, as saying.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be moping around for the next couple of months – I’ll be getting stuck in for Sussex to make sure I’m ready if and when I get my England place back,” he said.

“My keeping has come on leaps and bounds since I broke into the side three years ago, and it would have been an even more bitter pill to swallow if I had performed badly and lost my place through playing badly.

“I’ve had long chats with national selector Geoff Miller and our coach Andy Flower, and I’ve assured them I’ll be fighting like mad and working as hard as I can to play for England again,” Prior added.

Kieswetter, who only qualified for England two months ago, will be paired with Lumb at the top of the order in a new-look batting line-up with a heavy emphasis on hitting sixes. (ANI)