England captain Michael Vaughan praised the spirit his players had shown to win the second Test and level the series in New Zealand.
Skipper impressed by England's character
England captain Michael Vaughan praised the spirit his players had shown during the second Test victory over New Zealand.
The tourists triumphed by 126 runs at the Basin Reserve to level the series at 1-1 ahead of next week's series decider in Napier.
And Vaughan felt it was a superb effort, particularly after the humiliating 189-run thrashing they suffered in the first Test.
"It was a poor display in Hamilton (first Test) and I can't speak highly enough of everyone connected to the team, the way we responded was magnificent," Vaughan told
Sky Sports.
"We lost the toss and we would have bowled but the defining moment was that Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose to get us to a score.
"We then attacked them when they batted and a 140-odd lead on that kind of pitch was a fair advantage.
"The only thing we have not done well is catch. It would have been nice if we'd caught well but a win's a win and we've not won away since Mumbai two years ago."
Gut feeling
England dropped the experienced fast bowling duo of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard after the first-Test debacle.
And their replacements - James Anderson and Stuart Broad - both impressed, particularly Anderson who took 5-73 in the first innings.
"It was a pure gut feeling. It was a hard decision but that decision proved to be the right one," added Vaughan.
"The two lads that came in did well."
Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose, playing in just his second Test, earned the man-of-the-match award for his first-innings effort of 102, the only three-figure score on either side.
Ambrose shared a crucial partnership of 164 with Paul Collingwood to allow England to muster 342 in their first innings after being asked to bat.
"It was a critical stage and we were fortunate to win that last session of the first day and put ourselves in a decent position and then the guys did fantastically with the ball, particularly in the first innings," said Ambrose.
"It's been a great feeling, winning the game as well.
"A few of the lads have mentioned this but it's been a while since we had this feeling so we are going to make sure we are going to enjoy it this afternoon."
