All eyes now turn to Eden Park and the deciding third test between England and New Zealand after the second match was washed out at the Basin Reserve today.
Overnight and morning rain ruined prospects of England pushing on for victory, after the first test in Dunedin was drawn.
New Zealand were 162 for two in their second innings at the end of the match, still trailing England by 49 runs overall.
The final test starts in Auckland on Friday and has become, as England's bowling coach David Saker put it yesterday, effectively a cup final.
When the series began, England, ranked No 2 in the test game, were expected to be too strong across all departments for No 8-ranked New Zealand.
