Rain washed out the final day of the third cricket test between New Zealand and South Africa Wednesday, foiling the efforts of a depleted home team to win the test and level the three-match series.
Heavy rain fell throughout the night on Seddon Park, and when the players arrived for the scheduled start there were pools of water on the covers that sheltered the wicket block was significant pooling adjacent to the square and in the outfield.
South Africa was due to resume its second innings at 80-5, still 95 runs behind New Zealand with captain Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock both 15 not out. New Zealand needed five wickets to seal a series-leveling win.
Conditions briefly brightened around the scheduled lunch break but when the rain returned, the umpires and ground staff agreed that there was little likelihood the sodden oval could be made ready for play. The match was called off at 1.30 p.m. local time.
Du Plessis said the rain saved South Africa. "There was a lot of rain predicted for this game but I wasn't expecting it today," du Plessis said. "I was ready to come out and play my block-a-thon. It's fair to say New Zealand outplayed us in this game ... and they can count themselves very unlucky."
New Zealand was given little chance of saving the series after losing frontline seamers Tim Southee and Trent Boult and leading batsman Ross Taylor to injuries. But the depleted pace attack bowled superbly to dismiss South Africa for 314 in the first innings, setting up the match for themselves only to be denied by rain.