NZ VS RSA - 3rd Test, South Africa tour of New Zealand, 2017

So both Antipodean nations lose a Test series. One at home, one away. That brings curtains on Test cricket for quite some time. A never-ending T20 season beckons. Thanks for joining us throughout the summer. It's been amazing. Until next time, good bye from the team!! Raju Peethala, Sagar Chawla and Naga **YAWNS** Exodus now...

And what about Tom Latham? His numbers for a New Zealand opener is incredible. I won't be surprised if he leads New Zealand in some format in the future. He has got it all. He may not have had the best of seasons but remember the plaudits he received in India?

Talents unearthed this summer: Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval - sure they are going to play a big role in the future as well.

South Africa wasn't easy. Never was. Facing a side that barely lost a bilateral ODI series since 2015 World Cup wasn't, at least. New Zealand fought better than expected. Came second in the shorter formats, but lost to a number one ranked ODI side. Fair enough. Having disappointed themselves in the first 2 Tests, the Kiwis feathered rustiness and very nearly conquered South Africa for the first time in 13 years. So near yet so far.

So, a grand home season comes to an end for New Zealand. A season that sets an established Kane Williamson, the captain, on world stage. Plenty of positives. And some disappointing memories as well. After being spiralled by the spin-twin-web in India, the Kiwis embarked their season in typical shot-bro style. Gave no sniff to Pakistan and wrapped a series 2-zip that included one of the historic collapses in Test cricket. Then came Bangladesh, with no short of reputation; no short of talent; no short of surprises. New Zealand brushed all of them aside. A clean slate in every format of the game. Regained Chappell-Hadlee trophy.

Faf: There was a lot of rain predicted for the day, but I was prepared to block, block and block today. They outplayed us in every department and credit to them. Pleased with another series win away from home, but we have been very under par in the batting department. When the series is on the line you expect your players to put high price on the wicket and losing too many wickets upfront, that's not a great sign. It was a tired unit yesterday, but once again you have to find a way to be mentally strong. As batters we need to be strong as well. If you wanna be the best, you gotta make sure you win every session. The good and strong teams find a way to win Test matches eventhough they are not playing their best cricket. We started this summer as number 7 and finished as number 2. That's good, finishing on a good note. We got India and Australia to play in our home summer and we are going to play England in their home. It's going to be a tough one. To beat New Zealand here is very tough, we have shown some really good signs. We have to make sure we have to win the final game of the tour every time. New Zealand is our favourite place to tour and New Zealand cricket team has got great respect from us, I don't think I'll be here again, Thank you very much for everything.

Kane Williamson, Man of the Match: To be fair, we were lucky to get so much of cricket in this game. The frustrating part is that the last day has been rained off. Congratulations to South Africa for wining the series. Unfortunately, we had a bad day in Wellington which probably cost us the series. The most pleasing thing for us is showing great signs of improvement. The guys coming in are contributing well. Think still we are finishing on a positive note. Someone like Jeet getting challenged by one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket, especially against the new ball was amazing. The bowlers did well too. Neil Wagner bowled some heavy spells. I still think we have a lot of positives to take. As a unit we have grown together. Coming to the last game, we have played our best, but unfortunate with the result. There is a lot of cricket left in the coming months. Lot of T20s and competitive cricket. Great time for guys to enjoy the break. We have showed the kind of depth we have got. We will enjoy the break

It was nicely set up for day 5, with New Zealand needing 5 wickets, but for rains you know....

When two of your best bowlers and one of the best batsman bows out to injury. And when you are facing a must-win game to square the series. What would be the maximum you wish for? If you're a New Zealander and Kane Williamson, you'd say I'll win this Test match for my country. The modern master materialised plans-of-the-dressing room and weaved his best knock of the summer. Cracked a few records along the way: Equalled Martin Crowe's numbers for most centuries, highest individual score by a Kiwi against South Africa in New Zealand, best 2nd-wicket stand vs SA which involved Jeet Raval as well. All that glory, however, has been glared by some angry clouds, rains refusing to relent and eventually denying a probable series-levelling win.

13:20 local: Bam! Not a happy ending. New Zealand's summer has reached its conclusion. We have received an official confirmation; it has been called off and the match ends in a draw. South Africa take the series 1-0. The Black Caps' dream to bring an end to the 13-year winless drought against the Proteas has been shattered. Unfortunate I know, but that's how things pan out when rain decides to reduce us and the cricketers to mere spectators.

13:05 local: Aaaaaand it's pouring down again!

12:55 local: Sigh! The rain has stopped, completely. Covers coming off. Some blue skies peeking through as the players wander around the circumference. All of that is to just keep you interested. Prospect of any play looks bleak.

12:25 local: No improvement. Think umpires are gonna call it off, pretty soon.

"Consistent rain. It is absolutely impossible to dry the ground, and why they haven't called it off now, I don't understand," says Ian Smith on air.

11:50 local: The groundsmen have stopped working on the outfield and guess they are going to call it off sooner than later.

11:45 local: It has turned into a drizzle now. No play before lunch. No play after lunch? The inevitable looming...

11:00 local: Steady rain! Sing a song, call a friend, read a book, have coffee, fill in your favourite pastime activity ________

Oh Kane! Little did he know about today's weather. So, New Zealand may have to wait longer. Not just for the game to resume, but to claim their first Test victory against South Africa in 13 years.

Kane Williamson spoke to Simon Doull at the end of day's play yesterday and here's what the modern great had to say: Good to get a big first innings total and form partnerships. South Africa have a really good pace attack and a good spinner as well. We had to generate that kind of partnership in the middle. He (Martin Crowe) is our best batter ever and one of the fantastic players. I don't focus a lot on milestones, it's special for many people, but the focus for me is to bat the best I can for the team. It is taking a little bit of turn, nice to get a few wickets. There are a few rough patches and like I said we need to take a couple of wickets early in the morning.

Here's Simon Doull with some really terrible news: It is just awful at the moment. The whole field is pretty wet. Around 7-8 areas have taken a lot of water. The groundsmen are trying their best to get things under way. If we get any play today, I'll bring champagne, beer, coffee whatever I can. If the teams get on the field, the real Man of the Match award should go to these groundsmen.