Pressure on for England places
Michael Vaughan has warned England's new-look attack they must maintain the high levels of performance shown in Wellington if they are to retain their places in the Test side.
England sprang a surprise in the build-up to the previous Test at the Basin Reserve by dropping experienced seamers Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison, a decision which was vindicated by the tourists claiming a comfortable 126-run victory over New Zealand to level the series.
James Anderson played a key role by claiming seven wickets on his comeback while Stuart Broad continued to impress with a superb spell after lunch on the fourth day to claim two wickets and edge England closer to victory.
But as promising a start as it was for England's new-look attack, they cannot afford to rest easily with Vaughan impressed with the efforts both Hoggard and Harmison have put in towards reclaiming their places.
"I've been really happy with the way the two senior guys have knuckled down and given me a big indication that they are desperate to get their places back," said Vaughan.
"That's exactly what you want as a captain. It's now up to the young players to take their opportunity and try to keep those senior players out of the side.
"It's a good environment because it's competitive. I thought Hoggy and Harmy handled the young lads well last week by offering advice off the pitch.
"It was refreshing that we had two young guys who did well, but it's just one game and they know they have to do it again this week."
England's Wellington triumph – only their second overseas success in 17 Tests and their first victory in the last eight Tests – lifted spirits following the 189-run defeat in Hamilton.
Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard have responded well Buy this photoAnd they go into deciding Test bidding to win a three-Test series after losing the opening match for the first time since winning in Sri Lanka under Nasser Hussain seven years ago.
But Vaughan is aware that for England to compete with the best in the world, they need to become more consistent.
"The team is obviously improving, but it's at its early stages," he stressed. "We've won one game and we just want to try to improve.
"We have a lot of young players in the side, which is exciting, but we also want those older players out of the side to be pushing to get back in the team.
"I think there's an atmosphere being created and I do think it's an opportunity to move the team on and win a series, which is something we haven't done yet.
"We play them here this week to try to win this series and then there's three Tests back home so it's a great opportunity to try to win some games and some series."
He conceded: "It was an important moment for us all at Wellington to win the game, but we've done nothing yet.
Kevin Pietersen has the backing of Michael Vaughan "We want to win a series because we haven't won our last two and it would be great if we could do that here certainly after where we were after Hamilton."
To achieve that, Vaughan is aware England need a greater contribution from their top six - none of whom have scored a first-innings hundred in the last eight Tests - and particularly Kevin Pietersen, who is without a half-century in 10 innings.
Unluckily run out at the non-striker's end in the second innings at Wellington, Pietersen has shown signs of regaining his swagger in the last few days.
"I saw a little bit of a lack of confidence at Hamilton, but I felt he got that back this last week," he said. "He was very unfortunate in the second innings when he looked very good and I've just seen him bat in the nets on a spicy wicket and smash the bowlers everywhere.
"Kevin's an unbelievable talent who could quite easily go out there and smash a double hundred and I certainly hope that's what he does.
"He came on to the international scene with a huge bang and did unbelievably well. It's only six games ago that he got a hundred so it's not too much - it's just that we all expect Kevin to be scoring a hundred every other game.
"I've no doubt that he will do that if he gets in and gets a bit of luck, which you need when you're batting."
James Anderson en route to a seven-wicket haul to help level the series © Getty Images
