London: England skipper Michael Vaughan says his side's batters must regain their aggressiveness if they are to compete effectively in the Test series against New Zealand.

Recent displays at the crease have been poor from England and that has badly affected team confidence, he believes.

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

"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 stroke-players, 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." 

The national selectors have 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 in London and Old Trafford.

 

Source : PTI