Cricket: Vaughan demands more of the same in final.

MICHAEL VAUGHAN has urged England to maintain their winning principles for the one-day finals against Ashes rivals Australia.

England captain Vaughan, a doubt for the first of the best-of-three matches due to a recurrence of his hamstring injury, believes the template for success in the past week should be adhered to.

Yesterday's 14-run victory over New Zealand sent the squad to Melbourne for Friday's latest meeting with Ricky Ponting's Australians.

"I don't think you can play with too much of a free spirit in the final, you are playing Australia at the MCG - it is going to be a full house of 90,000 people," said Vaughan.

"The lads have got to take the momentum from the last two performances and play good basic cricket.

"With the batting, one player has got a hundred and given us the chance to get a good total and in the field we have hunted in packs.

"We have to take all the things from the last two games into the finals and if we produce that kind of performance we should put Australia under some pressure."

The end of the series turned into something of a knockout scenario - England won two matches to stay active this past week - which Vaughan views as valuable ahead of the World Cup.

"We want to win the final and end the tour on a good note but what was really impressive about this was what we could have in a few weeks time in the World Cup - one-off games to get through to the next stage," said Vaughan. "We have turned up and withstood the pressure with some young players which is a really positive sign.

"Now we have the chance to play the world champions in a final and who is to say that might not happen on April 28, so it is a great opportunity to test our mental strength and techniques and skills."

Paul Collingwood's return to form following a horrific slump resulted in a third one-day ton.

"It was long overdue," he said. "I have had a bit of a dip in form and it has been hard to get out of that."

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INJURED: Michael Vaughan