Newz Forum: OTHER: CRICKET: Thorpe leads England to victory

Graham Thorpe renewed his special relationship with Trent Bridge to guide England to a thrilling final npower Test victory over New Zealand and complete their first major series whitewash in 26 years.

The Surrey left-hander used all his experience gleaned from 90 Test appearances to keep his nerve and concentration and steer England to a four-wicket victory with 4.3 overs of the fourth evening to spare after hitting a brilliant unbeaten 104.

His superb innings, which included 13 boundaries during his 171-ball stay at the crease, denied all-rounder Chris Cairns a victorious swansong although he saved one of the best bowling displays of his career for his farewell Test appearance and finished with match figures of nine for 187.

BBC Sport

Vaughan said: "The players have done a fantastic job and I am very proud of all of them."

"We played some good cricket and it was a really tough day. The New Zealanders made it a tough Test match for us."

Vaughan said injury-ravaged New Zealand were gutsy to the end but England had also played extremely well.

He added: "They lost a couple of bowlers which was key, but again we've come out on a Sunday and played some great stuff."

"And full credit to our bowlers. Twenty wickets on that deck was superb and it was also a tremendous effort by Graham Thorpe."

"It was a great series played in the right spirit and could so easily have gone the other way."

"But we have got a couple of special players like Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff who can change a game."

Giles, who took 4-46 and scored 81 unbeaten runs in the two innings, paid tribute to the England selectors for keeping faith with him.

He said: "I've had a bit of stick recently so it's been fantastic to do a bit in this Test match."

"The lads have performed great in the series and I'd like to say a thank you to the fans, all my mates and the management, who have stuck by me through thick and thin."

"I got a couple of key wickets, it was just nice to contribute. We have got four, five, six fast bowlers so it's nice to get a wicket when I get a go."

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff was optimistic about the team's future, adding: "If we stick together and keep improving, and as long as we stay injury-free, who knows what we could do?"