Boucher believes Prior has the goods to be world's best keeper

Cape Town, Dec.2 (ANI): Record-breaker Mark Boucher believes England's Matt Prior can reach the top of the wicketkeepers heap if he continues with the form he has shown over the last year.

In the 12 months since returning to the side, Prior has put an end to a run of seven different England wicketkeepers in four years and Boucher has noticed the improvement in his glovework.

Boucher, who has more Test dismissals to his name than any other keeper in history, was quoted by The Mirror as saying: "In the beginning when I first came across Matt Prior I just thought he was a batsman first and keeper second. But the extra sessions he has been putting in behind closed doors have paid off and I've watched him do it."

"Matt is just like me towards the early part of my career and I had to work hard on my keeping to get up to speed, but it paid off for me and the same is happening for him and who knows how far he will go with it. Matt can be one of the game's top wicketkeeper batsmen and sustain it if he keeps working as hard as he is on the fitness and mental side of the game as well as the skills," he added.

"You will have the odd dip in form like any player does, but the selectors have got to show faith in him as well. He is a really good player and the signs are there that he is the right man for the job long-term."

Boucher has been South Africa's stalwart behind the stumps with 126 Tests and 475 dismissals under his belt, and even though he turns 33 tomorrow, is still going strong. (ANI)