Compton aiming to end on high

Nick Compton will go into the third 'cup final' of England's New Zealand tour with his confidence on a natural all-time high after his back-to-back Test hundreds.

England have a perfect record in their two deciders so far here, having clinched both the Twenty20 and then the one-day international series against the Kiwis 2-1 last month. This time they will head back to Eden Park - scene of their ODI victory - to see if they can repeat the dose in Tests following two draws in Dunedin and Wellington.

At the suggestion a 'cup final' is in the offing in Auckland, Alastair Cook's new opening partner Compton said: "That's one way of looking at it. I think it's been a good winter for English cricket for all the teams really - and it would be nice to finish on a high, to leave the country having won the last Test and the series."

To do so, England may well need fairer weather than they encountered both at the University Oval and then the Basin Reserve - where, each time, they lost one day's cricket out of five.

Cook's tourists will not lack for motivation, with the series on the line.

"There's no doubt about that," Compton added. "We'd love to clinch it - and we hope we can have five days' cricket rather than four, and we might have a chance."

He for one will begin the final Test with much reason for optimism, after sharing in double-century stands in his last two innings - first with Cook and then Jonathan Trott.

"I'm very proud," he said. "But it's been disappointing that two Test matches have been played, and we haven't got a result yet.

"If you'd asked me two weeks ago if I'd take back-to-back Test hundreds, I think I would have bitten your arm off. It is a great feeling."