Vaughan urges batsmen to put New Zealand under pressure

By Richard Sydenham

MANCHESTER (Reuters) - England captain Michael Vaughan rejected claims on Thursday that his top six batsmen are "too cosy" but challenged them to score runs as a unit in Friday's second test with New Zealand at Old Trafford.

Although Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell and Vaughan have scored centuries in the last year, only once in 12 Tests have two England batsmen scored centuries in the same innings.

England are seeking to win their fifth test in their last six on the ground. Victory would also give them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the draw at Lord's.

"We are all playing well at times but not as a collective unit," Vaughan told reporters. "We do try and look to get two players to a hundred in the first innings to get a big score.

"More often than not, (only) one of us has got a hundred and we've always fallen short of the 400 to 450 target that we like to achieve."

Vaughan believes the Old Trafford wicket represents the perfect opportunity to start compiling winning first-innings totals with consistency.

"That's our aim throughout the whole summer, to put New Zealand under pressure and later on in the summer to put South Africa under pressure," he said

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