Vaughan 'key to England's future'

England coach Peter Moores says captain Michael Vaughan has a huge role to play as the much-changed national side continues to evolve.

Vaughan's lack of runs have seen him come in for criticism recently but he answered the doubters with a century in the first Test against New Zealand.

"A mature captain is important when you're developing as a team," he said.

"We've had lots of changes to the Test and one-day teams so someone like him being at the helm is really important."

England's bowling has undergone major changes since the 2005 Ashes series win, with Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Ashley Giles and Andrew Flintoff all currently out of the England set-up.

Giles has retired from the sport, while the other bowlers are striving to return to their best after problems with injuries and lack of form.

"We've got an inexperienced set of bowlers and that is a key factor that you've got someone like Michael to marshal around and give his experience to that unit," added Moores.

"I think he's naturally calm and that is one of his strengths. It's a skill to be able to always give off that calmness and I think that's a sign of a good leader.

"As players mature, batsmen especially, they tend to have their best time towards the last third of their career.

"The way Michael has been playing in the nets and the way he has played over the year he's hitting the ball really well but you don't want to keep telling people that, you want to go and deliver in the middle and it's nice when you get the score on the board."