Cook confident over Prior fitness

Alastair Cook is confident Matt Prior will be fit to take his place in the first Investec Test against India after reporting "mild tightness" in his right thigh which led to Jos Buttler being called up as cover on Tuesday.

Prior was recalled to the Test side for the series against Sri Lanka having been dropped following the third Test against Australia in Perth. He made 86 in the first innings at Lord's but endured a difficult match with the gloves at Headingley.

"We're 99% sure that he'll be fine but we'll have a little check in the morning just to make sure," Cook said. "But all things at the moment are looking good.''

Prior spent the first part of the season battling his ongoing Achilles injury which meant his recall was uncertain until he managed to get through a Championship match for Sussex shortly before the first Test against Sri Lanka. He underwent a fitness Test on Tuesday where he was seen diving around with the gloves on.

Buttler is uncapped at Test level but put pressure on Prior for the wicketkeeper's spot before the series against Sri Lanka following his impressive one-day performances which included 121 off 74 balls at Lord's.

However, both the player himself and the England management followed the same line in saying he needed more time in first-class cricket to work on his red-ball game. He has had a solid Championship season for Lancashire with 491 runs at 40.91 included one hundred and four fifties.

At the weekend, Buttler said he was comfortable with his batting but believed his wicketkeeping still needed refining.

"The move to Lancashire has been going okay for me and given me the opportunity to develop my wicketkeeping a bit faster than before. But I have to be realistic. It is my first season keeping as a first choice keeper in red ball cricket and I have to remember that and not get frustrated that I'm not quite doing it as well as I would like to yet.

"I'm probably batting as well as I have in the Championship. I am a bit older and more experienced, I have matured as a person over the winter and it is going really well. I'm starting to learn my game a bit better but there is plenty of room for improvement."