E-Paper
Vaughan eager to inflict whitewash
The England captain insisted there would be no let-up from his side as they chased a 3-0 clean-sweep.
England captain Michael Vaughan insisted on Wednesday there would be no let-up from his side as they chased a 3-0 series clean-sweep against New Zealand in the third Test at Trent Bridge.
"We definitely want to win 3-0," Vaughan said. "We had an opportunity to get a whitewash in the Caribbean (where England beat the West Indies 3-0 in a four-Test series) but we missed out in that last game.
"Over the last few years this has been a result pitch so it's up to us to try to play good cricket over five days to make sure we win 3-0," Vaughan also told reporters at Trent Bridge.
"It will be hard because the Kiwis are a good team and they won't die down and give us the series 3-0. They'll make it very tough but, as we've shown in the first two games, if we produce the same manner of performance and the same attitude we can definitely beat them here."
England, leaving aside a 2-0 home series win against minnows Zimbabwe last year and in Bangladesh in the off-season, have not whitewashed a side in a major series of three matches or more since defeating New Zealand 3-0 at home back in 1978.
England won the first Test at Lord's by seven wickets and clinched the series in emphatic style at Yorkshire batsman Vaughan's Headingley home ground on Monday with a crushing nine-wicket victory.
And Vaughan said that with his side in such form, they needed few pep talks from their captain. "I don't think I have to stress too much to them. The focus is there. All players are working hard on their own game and collectively we're playing as a team."
Last year at Trent Bridge, Vaughan won a toss and batted first on a pitch that deteriorated sharply, England eventually defeating South Africa by 70 runs.
And having had a look at this year's surface, Vaughan said: "It looks pretty dry. It will probably do a bit over the first hour and then no doubt over four of five days it will get a bit worse.
"But for three-and-a-half days it will be a good batting pitch."
England added James Anderson to the team that won at Headingley after the Lancashire swing bowler was forced to withdraw with a heel injury.
His injury, and that of Simon Jones's, opened the way for Martin Saggers to play his first Test in England, the Kent seamer taking two for 91 in Leeds.
Vaughan, who said that left-arm spinner Ashley Giles was likely to play, said no decision had yet been taken on whether to opt for Anderson or Saggers.
"Jimmy is in the squad and is available for selection. We'll have a meeting about it this afternoon," said Vaughan.
"Martin Saggers came in at Headingley and did a good job. When the ball swings he's a huge threat. It's a headache we're happy to have."
He added: "I haven't really spoken to the selectors but I would have thought the spinner will play."
But the star of England's bowling attack has been Stephen Harmison, the Durham fast bowler taking 15 wickets in the series so far at a mean average of just over 22 apiece.
And Vaughan said that England might consider resting Harmison from matches in the upcoming triangular one-day series in a bid to preserve his fitness.
"Having people like Stephen Harmison in our team is a massive advantage... I think with the amount of cricket we play it (resting Harmison) is an option we might have to take during the one-day series.
"We'll have to manage him the best we can to keep him fresh but also you've got to win games of cricket and Harmison is our number one match-winner at the moment."
