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Manchester -- Craig McMillan said his hundred in the third cricket test against England was his most satisfying century for New Zealand.

His magical 107 not out at Old Trafford was his third for the Black Caps at test level, but ``Macca'' said this was his best.

``Obviously my first test hundred was pretty special, but nothing rates ahead of this.

``It's probably the best I've played. I played in a zone and wasn't going to let them get me out. It felt really good and I never felt under pressure.''

McMillan said he had done a lot of work to tighten his technique before, during, and after games on tour.

``You saw the fruits of that today. I've worked hard on the ball on or just outside off stump. It's still a bit of a weakness and there's still work to do but I'm fairly happy with the results so far.

``A lot of people have shown faith in. Probably the coach and the captain are the two biggest.

``To repay them back like this is satisfying as well.''

McMillan said he would not worry about critics back home and instead put pressure on himself to improve.

``My test average took a bit of a pounding in the first two games here, but it's good to push it close back up to 50 again. It's not easy keeping it there because it's a high mark.''

McMillan said there was a special team spirit in the side that was unsurpassed.

``Everyone is confident in their job and what they have got to do. There's a really steely confidence in the side I haven't really seen before.''

The Canterbury batsman said his diabetes problem made touring life a little complicated every so often, but was not impinging on his ability to contribute to the team.

``Sometimes I have to be stricter on what I do. I've had no worries. I have to be careful what I eat and drink. Travel and food can knock it around. But I've been part of the team for two and a half years now and I haven't had too many problems.

New Zealand declared its first innings closed shortly after McMillan scored his century at 496 for nine, leaving England to score 298 to make New Zealand bat again.