WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – England ended the drawn second test at the Basin Reserve yesterday as a winner on points after rain washed out the entire final day, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said.
McCullum’s side had reached 162 for two in their second innings after being forced to follow on, though they were still 49 runs adrift from making England bat again.
Intermittent showers on the fourth day and persistent rain yesterday ensured the final match in Auckland later this week will be a series decider.
“It was a draw at the end of the day and, I guess similar to the first test match. If it’s viewed as a points decision, I guess England will take this one,” McCullum said.
“They dictated this one and we held on and showed some fighting qualities.”
McCullum had actually won the toss on the first day and asked England to bat in the hope that the wicket would provide his seam attack with some assistance before it flattened out.
The visitors, however, batted New Zealand out of the match on day one with Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott scoring centuries, and McCullum said he felt that his side had not performed as well as they should have.
“I thought we were pretty average on day one. There was a little bit in the wicket that we could have got some more benefit from,” he said.
