Vaughan in positive mood

Michael Vaughan is urging his players to show more intent © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Test captain Michael Vaughan has called upon England to re-discover their aggressive batting ahead of the npower series against New Zealand.

Although positive strokeplay was a feature of the team’s halcyon period of 2004-05, which culminated in Ashes success, recent displays have proved something a contrast.

Runs have tended to be ground rather than belted out, with results over the past 12 months affecting team confidence.

But Vaughan hopes that will now change, beginning with the Lord’s campaign opener, which begins on Thursday.

“If you look at the last year, we have only beaten West Indies and New Zealand away,” Vaughan said.

“We have been under a lot of pressure and maybe that was one of the reasons we were not playing as fluently as a batting unit.

“Now we have won a series away from home, we should go on and play in the more positive, fluent way we are used to.

“We are all strokeplayers, who get good bases and bat long periods of time when we are playing well. We do have that attacking instinct right through the order.”

Paul Collingwood will have his shoulder injury assessed in the build-up to the match

National selector Geoff Miller and his fellow panel members opted to retain the same top six for at least the first two Tests after naming a 12-man squad for the back-to-back matches at Lord’s and Old Trafford.

Vaughan and Paul Collingwood, whose sore shoulder will be monitored during practice this week, have struggled for runs on county duty so far this summer.

While Vaughan admits he is under pressure, however, he can also draw on good experience of Lord’s, where he has registered five of his 17 Test hundreds.

He will also recall the three-figure score he took off the West Indies attack on his return to Test cricket - after a barren trot - at Headingley a year ago.

This summer, he has mustered 135 runs in seven innings in all cricket for Yorkshire, but said: “I actually feel quite good.

“Obviously, I haven’t got the big score. I would have loved to have got a big hundred for Yorkshire but I feel I have done the hard work by getting in at Headingley - that is usually the tricky part - on four occasions.

“I have got out on those four occasions but I feel I have picked up a bit of rhythm in somewhat tricky conditions.

“I am not in too bad spirits at all because I feel I have found something I lost in that last game at Napier.”

Miller showed his support when he said: “We know he is capable of scoring runs. We think a score is just around the corner and when that happens, all the speculation will disappear.”

Meanwhile, England’s player of the year for 2007-08 will be named at a dinner at Lord’s tonight.