Gregarious New Zealand opening bowler Mitchell McClenaghan wants to finish over the top of two key English opponents when the Twenty20 series is decided in Wellington on Saturday.

New Zealand levelled the three-match series with a 55-run hammering of the tourists at Hamilton on Tuesday in a much-improved showing from the 40-run defeat at Auckland three days earlier.

Left-armer McClenaghan’s removal of Alex Hales and Luke Wright from consecutive balls in his opening over helped set up victory at Seddon Park and he believes he saw the previously confident English attitude begin to crumble.

“They got in their own heads, from what I heard. We put some pressure on and if they make mistakes, it plays into our hands,” he said.

“We’re a fighting team and there’s been a big shift. We’re looking to fight all the time, keep the foot on the throat.”

Such aggressive talk comes as no surprise from the 26-year-old, who didn’t stand out in several seasons of domestic cricket before surprising on debut in the just-completed tour of South Africa.

He hurried up the Proteas’ top order in both short form versions of the game.