Cool-headed Strauss Spurs England's Great Escape

In the end it was a bit of a doddle. As a vicious, ruthless, relentless gale swept down from the Pennines, there was calmness personified in the batting of Andrew Strauss, who shepherded England to a most remarkable victory. His 106 enabled Vaughan's side to complete an escape, which would have tickled old Harry Houdini. They won by six wickets. Reach for the smelling salts if you lost interest in this match at lunchtime yesterday.

Here was Strauss back to his best; diligent, organized and undemonstrative, giving the Kiwis no way back into a game that they must have thought they were sure to win yesterday afternoon. His left-handedness helped in the nullification of Daniel Vettori, who was perceived to be the greatest threat. With soft hands he patted Vettori's deliveries away usually to square leg for an infuriating single.

Here was a batsman, whose mind was totally at ease, stimulated by the challenge of England attaining their highest winning score at Old Trafford. There may be minor technical changes to Strauss' batting; his back lift, never extravagant, seems to have been reduced further so that he looks even stiller at the crease. But it was his serene composure that tormented the tourists. A turning track? No problem: watch the ball, wait for it and ride the spin.

There was stout support from Vaughan, sharp and watchful from the start, so that New Zealand were denied any early breakthroughs. Vettori began with the wind at his back, while Iain O'Brien tacked in from the Stretford End.

This was the logical pairing, the one which had prompted England's collapse on Sunday, but eventually Vettori had to yield the wind to Chris Martin. At last there was a reward for the tourists when Vaughan edged an attempted drive against Martin to the keeper.

Kevin Pietersen was determined to bat positively in this innings. The whip through mid-wicket was back in fashion and when Vettori tried bowling into the wind Pietersen lofted the ball in the air. The wind carried it away for a straight six.

When Strauss fell to a superb diving catch by Ross Taylor, the job was just about done or so it seemed. Then Pietersen had one of his "red bull" moments. Unnecessarily he set off for a second run and was beaten by O'Brien's throw.

With 46 still required there was scope for another twist. Paul Collingwood could easily have been lbw to Vettori on 2; Ian Bell presented O'Brien with a straightforward return chance, which was dropped. But there were no more alarms.

So the two Englishmen, whose places are under the closest scrutiny, completed the task from the last ball of the afternoon session. For England this was the greatest bonus for any sporting team, winning a game that they seemed certain to lose. Monty Panesar was the man of the match - hard to argue with that - though Strauss was a strong contender.

Conversely, the Kiwis have to endure losing a match they should have won, the most galling experience in sport. Surely such an inexperienced side cannot come back from that at Trent Bridge.