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Vaughan has no complaints

22/12/2007

England captain Michael Vaughan admitted his side deserved to drop to fifth in the world Test rankings after the series loss to Sri Lanka.

Vaughan's men have been on a disastrous run in Test cricket, which started with the 5-0 Ashes loss to Australia followed by the 1-0 home loss to India, and now they have been totally outplayed by Sri Lanka.

"Those stats don't lie. We got to number two in the world because we beat most teams in the world," said Vaughan.

"We're number five in the world because we lost to Australia and we've only got 20 wickets once in our last 14 Tests away from home."

Vaughan looked ahead to the three match Test series against New Zealand in March and said it was imperative they started to win again. The Kiwis are ranked seventh in the world but are a tough team to beat in their own backyard.

"I can't fault the effort of the team but there are a few areas of expertise where we have to improve," said Vaughan.

"We have to regroup and go to New Zealand and start winning some Test matches again. We have enough talent and I am sure we can put it right in 2008."

England now have a three month break to prepare for the New Zealand series and coach Peter Moores admitted his team had a lot to work on.

He said: "We dropped catches. It's hard work to get a wicket so you can't afford to miss chances.

"We've lost some key fielders in key positions. We have to work hard to get new players in those positions."