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Vettori heaps praise on centurion Vaughan

19/05/2008

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has praised England opposite number Michael Vaughan after his record-equalling century at Lord's.

Batting at number three, Yorkshireman Vaughan held together the hosts' innings of 319 all out with a composed 106 from 214 balls.

His score, coupled with half-centuries for opening pair Alastair Cook (61) and Andrew Strauss (63), looked to be setting England up for a mammoth score in reply to New Zealand's 277 all out.

But the middle and lower orders failed to find any form, with only Ian Bell (16), Stuart Broad (25) and Ryan Sidebottom (16) getting into double figures.

At the close of play on Sunday, with the Black Caps on 40-0 in reply - two runs behind England - skipper Vettori hailed Vaughan's innings and described him as "a very good player".

"I know there has been talk of some pressure on him but we sit back and always think of him as a very good cricketer," he said.

"Anyone who has got that many runs and Test hundreds under their belt knows what they're doing.

"Everyone can go through a form slump but he has proved what a quality player he is.

"He held the innings together, batted with the top order and then manoeuvred the game around with the tail-end as well.

"That is the sign of a quality batsman - it didn't look like he panicked or worried about the hundred at any stage."

The century for Vaughan means he equalled the record of Graham Gooch in scoring six centuries at Lord's throughout his international career.