Prior returns as the pragmatic pick

For the second time in consecutive World Cups, England will enter their campaign with a wicketkeeper who, at the start of the year, had not even been a member of their one-day squad. But whereas Paul Nixon's call-up in 2007 was the result of extreme exasperation, with Geraint Jones and Chris Read having played their careers to a standstill, Matt Prior's return to the fray at the expense of Steven Davies is the latest example of Andy Flower's extreme pragmatism.

Davies did nothing much wrong in his brief stint in the hot seat (save taking the aerial route once too often during the second Twenty20 in Melbourne last week, and drilling his second delivery straight to extra cover). But at the same time, he didn't do quite enough right, and it was telling, in his press conference in Hobart on the day of the announcement, that Flower cited Prior's aggressive approach in the field as the principal reason for his recall.

With 23 catches in the recent Ashes campaign, as well as a host of other notable moments, including a back-handed run-out at Melbourne and a 40-yard bum-tap for Alastair Cook after a sharp piece of fielding at the Gabba, Prior established himself as the beating heart of a fielding unit that refused to let up at any stage of a brilliantly orchestrated campaign.

England genuinely believe they can continue that winning habit on the second leg of their winter's work, but without a wicketkeeper who encapsulates the team ethos, they would have run the risk of handicapping themselves before they started. For all his undoubted talent, Davies is not one of nature's motormouths, and as a former wicketkeeper himself, Flower knows better than most just what a galvanising influence a garrulous gloveman can be. Being an irritant to one's opponents isn't even the half of it; it's the constant geeing-up - even in times of duress - that is key.

What is more, winning is a habit, and with England's fastest Ashes century since 1981 in his most recent international innings at Sydney, Prior deserves the chance to translate his indomitable Test form into the 50-over format - a version of the game that, to be fair, he was coming close to cracking before he himself was subjected to a dose of Flower's pragmatism, on the tour of Bangladesh back in February and March 2010.

Prior lost his 50-over place because of the sudden emergence of Craig Kieswetter, a blazing comet of a cricketer with a penchant for inside-out sixes over long-off, whose selection was made wholly and solely with the World Twenty20 in mind. He played his first ODI only days after qualifying as an Englishman, racked up his first century at the third time of asking in Chittagong, and two months later, sure enough, he went on to claim the Man of the Match award with a brisk 63 in the final against Australia.

On the flat and lifeless subcontinent wickets, Kieswetter's uncomplicated brand of leather-swatting might well have had a role to play, had it not been for the flaws in his technique that were exposed in an uncannily swing-friendly English summer. Once it became clear that he had to be discarded, the selectors felt obliged to see what Davies was made of, given that doubts still persisted about the predictability of Prior's scoring areas. After all, at that stage, time was still on their side to experiment before the World Cup.

As an opener, Davies impressed with a 67-ball 87 in his second appearance at Chester-le-Street, but that was his solitary half-century in seven attempts. It's a harsh judgment, maybe, but when your team is gunning for nothing less than glory, those are the details that count, particularly when given free rein at the top of the order. For the record, his captain and opening partner, Andrew Strauss, passed fifty on five occasions in his last seven outings, and converted two of those starts to three figures.

That's not to say, however, that Prior will automatically fare better with the bat - particularly as an opener, where he has tended towards the frenetic in his previous outings, and particularly in the subcontinent, where he averages 18 from 16 matches in India and Pakistan. For all that he is set to open alongside Strauss for the remainder of the Australia tour, it could well be that Ian Bell, whose current form is peerless, eventually returns to the role that he held at the last World Cup in the Caribbean four years ago, with Prior slotting in to the middle order instead.

But whatever transpires, the message from Flower and the selectors is that Prior represents the stronger overall package, a fact that would be plain to anyone who watched him grow in confidence and authority throughout the Ashes campaign. For the first time since 1992, England are heading to a World Cup with a side that believes it can take home the spoils, and though it's harsh on Davies in the short term, the message is that this is a time for seasoned campaigners.