All washed up in Wellington

Another rainy day in Wellington allowed New Zealand to hold on for a draw, with only 17.2 overs possible. Australia managed three wickets in that short time, but it was not enough to force a victory.

Stephen Fleming’s poor series continued, trapped in front by Glenn McGrath for the third successive innings. Marshall suffered a similar fate just two balls later to put New Zealand in a familiar predicament at 2-3. Michael Kasprowicz had time to take his 100th Test wicket, that of Lou Vincent, before the rain came again to signal an end to Australia’s victory aspirations.

The series next heads to Auckland where New Zealand have the chance to salvage a drawn series, though a significant reversal of form will be needed.

Score Summary:

AUSTRALIA 8 for 570 from 140 overs
DR Martyn 165, AC Gilchrist 162, ML Hayden 61, SK Warne 50*;
JEC Franklin 4/128, DL Vettori 2/170

NEW ZEALAND 244 all out from 81.1 overs
L Vincent 63, DL Vettori 45;
MS Kasprowicz 3/42, SK Warne 3/69

NEW ZEALAND (follow-on) 3 for 48 in 17.2 overs
L Vincent 24;
GD McGrath 2/10, MS Kasprowicz 1/11

Result: Match drawn
Series: Australia lead three-Test series 1-0 with one match to play

Man of the Match: AC Gilchrist (162 from 146 balls, two catches)