British press react to Black Caps' draw

Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Peter Fulton, Dean Brownlie and Kane Williamson of New Zealand show their despair during day five of the Third Test. Photo / Getty Images.

As Kiwis were left commiserating over 'what might've been' in the Black Caps' thrilling draw against England last night, the Brits were waking up to the tale of a miracle that salvaged the series.

Nzherald.co.nz takes a look at the best excerpts from the English papers and websites.

Stephen Brenkley - The Independent

For much of the three weeks that the series took - it was like Test cricket being played on a loop tape with little time to breathe and none to reflect - the tourists spent the time under a dark bunch of cumulus created by the Black Caps.

It could easily be judged that England did not deserve to finish with a tied rubber. Outplayed for most of the opening Test, they were hardly given a sniff in the deciding game. But all sport is about applying the finishing blow, or in this case, taking the last wicket.

David Lloyd - The Daily Mail

The drama mustn't hide the fact that throughout this series England have had a battle not only with New Zealand but also themselves. They've played without authority, purpose and energy. To illustrate the point, Monty Panesar is experienced with 168 Test wickets but he was hit for 12 sixes. His counterpart Bruce Martin, with just three Tests, was hit for one six.

Paul Newman - Mail Online

This would have been far more of a scalp for Brendon McCullum and his team because it would have been so unexpected. When England defeated India before Christmas it had seemed that the inconsistency which has afflicted them for much of the last year had been consigned to the past.

Few people outside New Zealand expected anything other than a convincing England victory here not least because the Black Caps themselves were at a similarly low ebb now as England were in 1999.

Yet there will surely not be a single fan here - and it was a great shame that more of them were not in Eden Park today to see it - who will not laud McCullum as a modern New Zealand sporting hero after this. Even though England held out this 0-0 series draw this was absolutely the hosts' series

Jonathan Agnew - BBC sport.

At the close of play on the fourth day, I said England needed a miracle to salvage the series - and that is exactly what they pulled off.

Batting out the final day at Eden Park to secure a draw ranks alongside Michael Atherton's wonderful unbeaten 185 in South Africa in 1995 and Colin Cowdrey playing with a broken arm to fend off Wes Hall and West Indies in 1963.

Only Test cricket can provide these wonderful finishes, which is why it is the purest form of the sport and why it needs to be preserved and cherished.

-nzherald.co.nz