You must be pleased with the start you have made to the Test series in England, with 101 at Lord’s and 149 at Headingley?
I’m feeling very good, it’s great to have two hundreds behind my back, but the job is not done yet. There are still two matches left and we will be going all out to clinch the series.

There seems to be a real determination like never before to win this series?
It was summed up in that first Test when, in the second innings, we had our backs to the wall. Anybody who doubted how much we wanted to win could see the amount of fight we put up in that second innings. We are using a slogan at the moment that whatever position we find ourselves in we will find a way of getting out of it.

Personally, you are relatively anonymous on the global scale compared to the likes of Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn. Why is that?
I am a private person and if I am not that well known it’s not because I am doing anything to keep it that way. I have scored Test hundreds against almost every nation so maybe if people don’t know me it’s a lack of knowledge.

I don’t mean your batting ability is not known too well - clearly you are just outside the top ten in the world rankings and have become a star performer. I am referring more to you as a character away from the field.
I try to stick to a family lifestyle, I’m not one to go out much. I will go out for dinner with my wife and my baby (five-month-old son Joshua) – that’s the type of lifestyle that I lead. When I’m back home I spend more time with family and friends than nightclubs. It’s a quiet life that I lead and you would compare it to anybody in football I would probably be like Paul Scholes. A lot has been said about how quiet he is but he is a very family-orientated type of guy and I am a similar person.

Talking of football I hear you are a passionate Liverpool supporter?
I always loved Liverpool, since the days of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Ray Houghton – they were the golden days. It’s about time that Stevie (Gerrard) lifted that Premier League trophy. I used to play a lot of football when I was younger and I like to think that I was a decent player but growing up in Port Elizabeth there wasn’t any professional clubs really so I couldn’t pursue a career in that. Maybe if I had grown up in England it would have been different.      

Were you good enough to have been a professional footballer?
I think I was pretty useful. I was a striker in the style of Michael Owen, not all that skilful but I was quick. Not like now, that I am the wrong side of 30 (laughs).

Back to cricket, it is interesting that you excel against top teams and not as much as sides like Bangladesh. Why is that?
It’s probably a weakness that I am not always that switched on when I am playing against a team like Bangladesh. I have often found myself coming in against Bangladesh when we have 400 on the board and just before we declare – there was only one time I came in against them when the team needed me and I got run out for ten. When I come in feeling that my contribution won’t mean a lot to the team I end up losing my wicket, which is probably a weakness as I don’t focus as much as I should.

So you are more focused when there is fight on?
Coming in when we are 40 or 50 for three means a lot more if you put runs on the board; it feels more rewarding if you can contribute in those circumstances.

How would you describe your batting style now, as you seem to play more shots than you used to?
I came into the side as someone who played a few shots but after being left out I tried to then be a bit more defensive. Over the last year or so I have tried to be a bit more attacking. People said over the last few years that I was too defensive but I needed to be to settle back into the team. I couldn’t just come in and blaze my way back into the team.

Tell us about your upbringing and background? Were your parents influential in you playing cricket?
My parents never really pushed me into any sport. I played a lot of sports when I was growing up, I played football, tennis, cricket and athletics and my parents made sure I attended all my practices and didn’t miss out on things like that. They made sure that I had the right discipline and they always came to watch my matches so there was never any pushing but they were very supportive. That good family support means a lot to me.

What occupations do your parents have?
My parents are both retired now but my father worked for Shell in an admin role and my mother worked in a chemist most of her life. I had all the support I could have had from them and couldn’t ask for any more.   

Ashwell Prince was speaking to Richard Sydenham {this interview first ran on reuters.co.uk}

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