England's hierarchy have backed Matt Prior to shrug off the crushing disappointment of being overlooked for a central contract by firmly establishing himself as England's wicketkeeper.

The Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman has played every England match this summer, which has included seven Tests, two Twenty20 internationals and 10 one-day internationals without ever making the position his own.

After scoring a century on his Test debut at Lord's against West Indies at the start of the summer, Prior has struggled for consistency in all formats of the game and that has been reflected in his startling omission from the list of 12 players to receive one-year contracts.

It is the second year running the selectors have decided there was not a wicketkeeper deserving of a central contract, although they do have the luxury of giving him a six-month contract if he impresses during the winter.

But both chairman of selectors David Graveney and one-day captain Paul Collingwood believe Prior has the necessary determination to bounce back from this setback and make the role his own amid growing competition from wicketkeepers in county cricket.

''Hopefully it will have a positive impact on him and he will go out there and prove to everyone what kind of player he is,'' stressed Collingwood.

''He has certainly got the talent but these contracts aren't easy to come by and you have to work very, very hard to get one.

''At any time he can be awarded a summer contract as well so I'm sure he has got the character to go out there and prove to everyone he is deserving of a contract.

''It works the other way as well when you do get a contract, but you don't want to sit back and relax as soon as you get a contract.

''We have all got a job to do to keep improving as cricketers and keep improving as a team. Contracts are nice for your security but they are not the be all and end all.''

Prior, currently in South Africa with England's squad for the World Twenty20, has opportunities to prove his critics wrong after being selected for the 15-man squad to tour Sri Lanka for the one-day series which follows this tournament.

''Matt started off really well in his Test match career and I think he has received some fairly harsh criticism from some quarters, but it's a tough sport and at the same time we have also got some outstanding wicketkeepers out there,'' explained Graveney.

''As selectors we have to be pretty certain when we're giving out these contracts. I've said to Matt that he should not read too much into it even though he is desperately disappointed and we are allowed to offer summer contracts.

''I'm sure it doesn't feel great for him at the moment and he's probably down in the dumps but he should not think that everyone is against him.''

Seam bowling pair Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad also miss out on a contract while Marcus Trescothick, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles drop off the list having been unavailable for nearly all of last year.

The remaining contracts were awarded to those players who consistently performed - James Anderson, Ian Bell, Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Kevin Pietersen, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan - during the year.

The most notable name included in England's squad for the one-day series in Sri Lanka, which was also announced today, was that of Nottinghamshire off-spinner Graeme Swann.

Swann bowled five overs in his only previous one-day international appearance for England in Bloemfontein seven years ago.