Poor planning to blame

Confidence is everything. England's rampant victory on the final morning at Headingley was triggered by Geraint Jones and Matthew Hoggard - players who entered the game with a point or two to prove, but emerged as key figures in England's fifth victory in six Tests.

Yesterday afternoon, Jones let his bat do the talking in a buoyant maiden century, and it showed in the field in New Zealand's second innings, as he let his instinct take over behind the stumps. His jump-jet take-off to dismiss Mark Richardson last night was stunning enough, but it was his one-handed effort this morning, to end Scott Styris's hopes of a fightback, that finally convinced the Kiwis that the match - and the series - was a write-off.

Both dismissals were off Hoggard's bowling, and that was perhaps the most uplifting factor for England's team morale. Hoggard is a popular figure in the dressing-room - not to mention with the fans - and his recent hat-trick in Barbados was perhaps the most gleefully-received event of England's entire winter. Yet he is someone who needs constant reminders of his value to the team, and it will no doubt bug him that he has taken only two five-wicket hauls in his 28 Tests - the most recent coming against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston two years ago.

One ball after Jones's take, Graham Thorpe might have ended Hoggard's wait when he dropped Michael Papps at second slip, although it would have been an effort to surpass even Marcus Trescothick's momentum-seizing catch yesterday evening. But overall, it made no difference whatsoever. Steve Harmison soon ended the injured Papps's uncomfortable stay, and then - appropriately enough - it was back to Jones, who applied the coup de grace with a direct hit as Chris Martin attempted to escape from the strike.

It is easy to get carried away in the moment - and New Zealand's desperate injury problems cannot be ignored - but this has to rate among England's most complete series victories in a generation. From the openers, right down the middle order and all through the bowling, each man has played his part to see off a side that was widely billed as serious threat to England's burgeoning self-confidence. But as it turned out, the only dark horses on show were on the sponsorship badges of the Kiwi kit.

All that England now need to complete the set is a first-rate spinner. They do exist in English cricket - Lancashire's Gary Keedy has particularly mesmeric powers when the mood takes him - although the ballast that Ashley Giles provides at No. 8 cannot yet be discounted. But confidence is everything. If the Jones-Flintoff axis is really as potent as it now appears, England might soon find themselves in a position to take a few more liberties with their tail.

Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.