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The second Test between England and New Zealand in Wellington was drawn after rain washed out the final day.

The tourists harboured hopes of pressing for victory, with New Zealand - 162-2 overnight - needing a further 49 to make England bat again.

But rain forced play to be called off at the Basin Reserve at 01:00 GMT and preserved the 0-0 series scoreline.

The final Test of the three-match series starts in Auckland at 21:30 GMT on Thursday.

While England will be disappointed not to have been able to translate their superiority for much of this contest into victory, they can be heartened by a performance much improved from their erratic showing in the drawn first Test.

Centuries from Nick Compton - his second in succession - and Jonathan Trott set up an imposing first-innings total of 465, before Stuart Broad's 6-51 helped bowl New Zealand out for 254 and enforce the follow-on.

"We got ourselves in a really good position to win the game," said England captain Alastair Cook.

"In normal circumstances we probably wouldn't have enforced the follow-on but, looking at the radars, we knew we probably had 60 or 70 overs to try to bowl them out on a good wicket with tiring bowlers.

"That's never going to be easy and the lads put an outstanding effort in to try and do that. Unfortunately, with the weather, that wasn't going to happen."

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum said: "We dictated the first Test and England held on and showed some fighting qualities. They dictated this one and we held on and showed some fighting qualities."

The prospect of a positive result in the series finale at Eden Park will depend to some extent on the pitch, the first two matches having been played on surfaces offering minimal assistance to the seamers.

"I've read and heard a lot about our pitches being too flat but I don't see anything wrong with our wickets," added McCullum.

"These are not three- or four-day Test match wickets; they are five-day grinding wickets and you have to work incredibly hard for your fruits."

James Anderson showed signs of discomfort while bowling in the second innings, and Cook admitted the pace bowler was "a little bit sore".

"To be fair to him he's bowled 30-odd overs into the wind tirelessly and with great skill," said Cook.

"He put his hand up and said he wanted to do that and we need characters like that in tough conditions. He did an outstanding job."

Listen to match highlights and Jonathan Agnew and Geoffrey Boycott's analysis of the Test on the Test Match Special podcast.