England captain Michael Vaughan pointed to his side's mental strength as key to their six-wicket victory in the second Test.
Skipper praises a revitalised Strauss
England captain Michael Vaughan pointed to his side's mental strength as key to their six-wicket victory in the second Test.
England completed the highest run chase to win an Old Trafford Test, an innings anchored by 106 from Andrew Strauss, to take a 1-0 series lead over New Zealand.
It was the Middlesex opener's second ton in three Tests, knocks that appear to have confirmed his place in the side following a winter where his England form fell away.
Vaughan told
Sky Sports: "When you are chasing that kind of total you always have stages when the opposition is on top.
"To come back and show that character and resistance we hope we can build on that.
"Andrew Strauss is growing with confidence all the time. It's a tremendous 100 and one that got us over the line."
Vaughan also hailed his side's tenacity, adding: "The pitch allows both teams to play that kind of cricket.
"This morning the first session was always going to be critical.
"To win by six wickets on that pitch is special, it shows a lot of mental strength.
"We do enjoy playing at Old Trafford. It creates an exciting game of cricket."
Regrets
New Zealand counterpart Daniel Vettori rued his side's second-innings collapse to 114 all out.
Monty Panesar's six wickets reduced the tourists after they had appeared to be on the verge of victory and asked whether he regretted the display after they had come so close to winning, Vettori said: "We have to with the positions we had ourselves in.
"All the things that go to winning the game, all the things contributed to where we are now.
"Probably we didn't help ourselves with some of our shot selection.
"We still have a chance to draw this series, we are going to hurt for a long time."
