Chanderpaul in fitness worry

Matt Prior has spent most of the summer looking at the back of Shivnarine Chanderpaul's bat

Edgbaston centurion and man-of-the-match Shivnarine Chanderpaul has passed 50 in each of his seven Test and one-day innings so far - and even hit 41 in a Twenty20 knock - but is struggling with a right ankle injury and will undergo a fitness test on Friday.

England wicket-keeper Matt Prior, in particular, is sick of the sight of the left-handed limpet, who appears unfazed by whatever England throw at him, be it bouncers, yorkers or sledges.

“I’ve spent most of the summer looking at the back of his bat,” Prior said.

“He’s a fantastic player and he’s showed that time and again in the past few weeks. You must take your hat off to him.

“We have plans when we bowl to him but sometimes you must allow for someone playing well. His concentration seems unbreakable and he’s just so stubborn.

“He wants to bat and bat, he never gets bored with batting and scoring runs. He’s having one of those purple patches that the top players go through.

“He’s very experienced and I don’t think any vocals from me from behind the stumps are going to affect him. I don’t think I can get into his head, he’s unflappable. All we can do is to continue working on our plans and hope we get him out early on Saturday.”

Prior hit his maiden half-century in one-day internationals in drizzly Birmingham and has taken his chance at the top of the order under coach Peter Moores - even if it has not been in the manner anticipated.

England’s lack of early firepower was one of the main failings of the World Cup and Prior, 25, was cast in the role of aggressor when the 14-man squad to take on West Indies was revealed.

But the wet weather has made strokeplay inhibited and turned the Sussex player into more of a pinch-blocker than pinch-hitter.

Prior has found it difficult to be aggressive from the start of each innings © Getty Images

“It’s a difficult balance,” Prior said.

“I’m always looking to be aggressive but you must be careful, especially in English conditions when the ball moves around a fair bit early on.

“If the ball is seaming, nobody in the world can score at seven, eight, nine-an-over without taking risks.

“So you must weigh up the situation. Some days, it is more important to keep wickets in hand. The West Indies showed that - they kept wickets in hand and that made the final 10 overs much easier. They could really attack us.

“Other times, though, you can really try to hit the ball and attack the bowling. It’s a case of thinking on your feet - all the best one-day cricketers think on their feet.”

Kevin Pietersen, the world’s best one-day batsman, according to the official rankings at least, is suffering a slump by his lofty standards.

Since international action has switched from the red ball to a white one, Pietersen has managed just 77 runs in four visits to the middle.

But Prior insisted: “He is a fantastic cricketer, a champion legend who will become a legend of the game.

“When he doesn’t score runs for a couple of games, people start talking about a crisis. He’s hitting the ball brilliantly in the nets and I’m sure he’ll score a brilliant hundred very soon - and it might even be on Saturday.”