Melbourne, Dec. 9: England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has warned the Poms not to peak too early in their push for the Ashes in Australia.

Prior appealed to his teammates to avoid premature back slapping, and maintain the present work ethic to ensure that the urn stayed with England.

England has a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with three matches remaining.

Prior says the tourists are looking no further ahead than their three-day game against Victoria at the MCG starting on Friday.

"You''ve got to be careful you don''t fall into the trap of too much back-patting too early," Prior told a press conference at the MCG on Thursday.

"We''ve played well, the tour''s gone well so far, but it''s all in the past now. We''re one-nil up. That''s fantastic. We''ve got to make sure we go two-nil up. We''ve got a big game against Victoria coming up tomorrow and that''s as far ahead as we''ll look," he added.

"You can fall into a trap if you start looking too far ahead," Fox Sports quoted him, as saying.

The third Ashes Test starts in Perth next Thursday. (ANI)