Kevin Pietersen defended England's cautious approach after spending three and a half hours making 42 in the first Test against New Zealand.
They ended the third day on 286-6, still 184 behind, and Pietersen told BBC Sport: "It's a difficult wicket.
"I tried to do a job out there. I faced 120/130 balls for 40, which is maybe not like me.
"But I really enjoyed my knock. I knuckled down and scrapped hard and that's what the captain asked for."
He added: "Our guys batted brilliantly, I think we put in a great performance here.
"If a few of us had tried to play our normal games and got out for 10 or 15 we could have been in a whole lot of trouble.
"To lose only four wickets in the day is a fantastic effort. Yes, we haven't scored as many runs as everybody would have liked, but it's not that kind of wicket."
Michael Vaughan's 63 was the highest score for England and batting coach Andy Flower said he was he was baffled that the batsmen were struggling to convert good starts into centuries - a problem that has dogged them all winter.
They only managed one ton in their last series in Sri Lanka and Flower said: "The facts don't lie. Our batters should be going on to get bigger scores, they all realise that.
"Perhaps it should have been more attacking but they scrapped and that's what you do when you play for England"
"I don't think it's anything to do with hunger or the effort they're putting in. I'm not sure what the reason is.
"They're world class players, we've seen that in the past. It's a matter of being very tough with yourself and disciplined.
"I think it's going to come, they're putting in the hard work and that's always the base around which you can build your game."
England scored only 199 runs in the 93 overs bowled by the Kiwis, with Pietersen's runs occupying 131 balls.
"It's always the batsman's responsibility to find the balance between attack and defence, no-one else can do that for them so that's their job," commented Flower.
"It was unusual, in these days of more aggressive Test cricket this was like harking back 30 years.
"It was a very hard day for everyone concerned, turgid, not very entertaining, but full of battle and fight.
"Perhaps it should have been more attacking but they scrapped and that's what you do when you play for England."
"The wicket's wearing pretty badly and if you bowl straight there's a good chance of getting wickets"
The visitors were particularly constrained by spinners Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel, who occasionally extracted turn out of rough patches on the pitch.
Patel expects batting will only become more difficult as the match goes on and he is confident the hosts can force victory.
"There are some areas that have started to turn big, which is exciting for us, and there are some areas that have started to go up and down," he said.
"The footholes are only going to get bigger, especially if (England paceman) Ryan Sidebottom runs all over the wicket again.
"The wicket's wearing pretty badly and if you bowl straight there's a good chance of getting wickets."
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