NZ drew with ENG | New Zealand vs England, Highlights And Cricket Score 2nd Test Match

Right! A tour which had a lot of expectations, could not quite turn up the way it was advertised. The T20Is were a superhit but the Tests were very dull, except that final day of the first Test. However, the next two series which these two teams play promise much more excitement - New Zealand in Australia and England in South Africa. There will be the India-West Indies series as well in between. So you see, there is plenty of cricket to come before the year ends. For now, we just take a short break. See you soon. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Kane Williamson is handed the series trophy and that is yet another victory for New Zealand at home! Their 5th successive series win, beating West Indies, England (2017), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and now England again. Good confidence heading into Australia.

New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, is happy with the fight shown by his side in spite of losing the toss. Admits that the surface here was a tough one, not quite breaking up as much as they expected and also laments the time lost due to the weather. But putting it from the players' perspective, he lauds the intent from his team, with bowlers wanting to bowl in tough conditions even when nothing was going their way. Is looking forward to an exciting tour of Australia. Praises Daryl Mitchell for his contribution on debut and also Matt Henry for slotting in nicely. On their upcoming tour of Australia, Williamson admits that his side will have to adapt to some new challenges in that country.

England captain, Joe Root now, talking as a skipper. Is disappointed with the game being abandoned early and also with the pitch not quite opening up, but is happy with the bowling last evening and this morning. Is pleased with his young side which is always wanting to learn. Believes that if they keep up this consistency, they can become a side hard to beat. Admits that on flat pitches, it becomes difficult to pick wickets and not let shoulders droop. But also feels that England have learnt a lot in this series and can take a lot of positives to their next tour of South Africa. Reckons that the players are extremely lucky to have a support staff like the one currently.

NEIL WAGNER HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE SERIES. 2 consecutive 5-wicket hauls. No interview.

ENGLAND CAPTAIN, JOE ROOT, HAS BEEN NAMED THE MAN OF THE MATCH. Says that it felt good to score a century after 15 innings. On the areas he was working on during his lean run, Root says that he worked on small technical things, like position at the crease and so on. On the match, he is glad to have contributed and believes that his team was in a position to force a result but could not quite do it. Feels the pitch did not break up as much as they expected it to but praises his bowlers and his batsmen for coming back from the big first match defeat.

Coming to the Black Caps - they will grab more eyeballs than the SA-Eng series. They travel across the Tasman to meet arch rivals Australia in a series, which could perhaps decide the second World Test Championship finalist. It is almost taken for granted that India will breeze through the group stages and end on top but by the looks of it, one of either Australia or New Zealand would meet them in the final. This series will go a long way in deciding that. The Kiwis have won just one Test series in Australia - way back in 1985/86 but one will agree that of all the NZ teams to have visited Australia in the last 30 years, this one is certainly the best. No disrespect to the rest. Please stay tuned for the presentation.

To sum up the tour, clearly England have a lot of work to do with their bowling. Their batting still looks decent but they lack penetrating bowlers except for Stuart Broad. They now travel to South Africa, where they should find conducive pitches to bowling. But do they have bowlers back home to exploit those? They have not lost a Test series in the rainbow nation since 1999 - so history holds them in good stead.

Was there a chance with the Black Caps at 28/2 and trailing by 73 on Day 4? Definitely. Was there a chance on the morning of Day 5? For sure. But England messed up whatever chances they had, dropping catches and missing run outs. As a result, a masterclass was witnessed from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, both scoring centuries and racking up an unbeaten partnership of 213 till rain helped the bowlers by coming in post Lunch.

Perhaps choosing to field was the right call from Joe Root. In reply to NZ's 375, his own team managed 476 with the skipper himself coming back to form in style, amassing his third double century. Do not forget the contributions of Rory Burns and Ollie Pope.

A bit of a disappointing pitch from a spectator's and player's point of view. A batsman's paradise - yes. As many as 5 centuries. But look at the bowling strike rate - 100.09! A deathbed for the bowlers as all struggled. Yes, Wagner did get a 5-fer, Broad did get a 4-fer but at what cost? Heavy. The batsmen enjoyed, albeit scoring at an attritional rate but that hardly mattered in this Test.

Sigh. This was coming, wasn't it? THE GAME HAS BEEN ABANDONED AND THE SECOND TEST ENDS IN A DRAW. The umpires had a look at the ground and seeing the puddles forming, there was no way we could have had a resumption soon. Given the rain forecast, this was always on the cards but who knows, if England had held on to their catches this morning, would they have been in with a chance for a win? Ifs and buts are nothing but whims and fancies...

3.15 pm local update (0215 GMT) - Called off? Don't think so. It is raining, no one can win, no one can lose, why can't common sense be used? Paul Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena have a chat with one another, then the groundstaff and then with the captains. But no handshakes. So no official confirmation yet. But we are not far from an abandonment. We are hearing that there will be an official announcement at 4 pm local (0300 GMT). Cannot promise any positive news. Just delaying the inevitable...

3 pm local update (0200 GMT) - Rain, rain and more rain. We are hearing that the umpires could take a call at 3.15 pm local time. Would that be a call off? Don't see this rain stopping any time soon.

2.30 pm local update (0130 GMT) - Nothing much to update. If any, the rain has gotten heavier and looks set to reside. Hopefully, we get some news soon.

1.55 pm local update (0055 GMT) - Drip, drip, drip. The drizzle has begun. And now, it has increased. The rain is falling properly. Williamson and Taylor shake hands and the players go off the field. It is not too heavy right now, with only the main square being covered. But the forecast looks pretty grim. Please stay tuned for updates.

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. Full and around off, well defended.

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. Punched off the back foot by the batsman.

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. SIX! Another massive hit and there comes the century! His 19th in Tests. Full and outside off, Rosco gets down and mows the slog sweep again, well over mid-wicket! He really likes this venue. 1066 runs in Tests here, at an average of 56.10, with 6 centuries and 2 fifties in 23 innings. Gets it in the nick of time too, with the heavens about to open up.

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. SIX! 99 is the score for Rosco! Full and around middle, Taylor gets down and slog sweeps it over mid-wicket. There is a man in the deep but it does not matter as the ball sails over!

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. FOUR! THRASH! Into the 90s! Full and around off, Taylor gets down and mows the slog sweep over mid-wicket for a boundary! 200-RUN STAND IS UP AS WELL!

Joe Root to Ross Taylor. ALMOST A CATCH! Full on middle and leg, Taylor looks to flick but the bat hits the ground and the ball flies towards short mid-wicket. Rory Burns dives to his left but the ball falls short of him.

Joe Denly to Kane Williamson. Full and around off, Williamson lunges and smothers it.

Joe Denly to Ross Taylor. Very full, outside off, drilled through the covers for one.

Joe Denly to Ross Taylor. Full and outside off, Rosco gets down and laps it through fine leg for a couple.

Joe Denly to Ross Taylor. Short now, outside off, cut straight to backward point.

Joe Denly to Kane Williamson. Floated generously outside off, pushed through the covers for a run.

Joe Denly to Ross Taylor. Full and around off, eased through the covers for a single.