The celebrations amongst England players and fans alike after securing a draw in Auckland were wonderful to behold. Heaven knows how they would have celebrated a 3-0 whitewash. Actually I suspect it would have been a more muted affair with lots of comments like "New Zealand put up a brave fight" and "We just had a little more quality". As things turned out, despite the chasm in quality on paper, it was a reassuringly tight series.
If anything, the home side may have edged it overall. They shocked England right at the beginning in Dunedin, but were decidedly second best at Wellington where they were forced to follow on and rely on rain to save their bacon. The combination of Peter Fulton's runs and Trent Boult's wickets meant that England suffered a 239-run first innings deficit this week but Brendon McCullum decided to make England bat for their lives on the final day. And they only went and flaming did it!
I feel sorry for Peter Fulton. Thrust into the limelight and scoring twin centuries, his achievement will be forgotten. This will be known as Matt Prior's match. He top-scored with 73 in the first innings and then combined bloody-minded determination with some great strokeplay to strike a seventh Test hundred and steer England to an extremely unlikely draw. He doesn't boast a 45-plus average for nothing, and he has the knack of getting the best out of tailenders to either save or win Test contests that would otherwise have led to red faces. This 110 not out was one of his most heroic performances. His 97 Test innings include 17 not-outs and 26 50s in addition to those seven centuries, which is remarkably consistent for a number seven.
Let's not forget the contributions of Ian Bell and Stuart Broad. Bell has often blossomed in partnership with a Trott or Pietersen but this time he got his head down and patiently occupied the crease for six hours or so. That was more important than the 75 runs he scored. Same went for Broad. Six runs from 77 balls must have frustrated the NZ attack no end and when his departure heralded the arrival of Monty Panesar, Southee and co must have thought luck may return to their favour. It didn't happen, and a Prior defensive stroke was to earn one of the biggest cheers of 2013 cricket! Panesar has been part of last-wicket match-saving before, of course. Remember Cardiff 2009 against Australia?
However, the match belonged to Prior. His runs, keeping and general chirpy demeanour came together in one glorious five-day grouping. England may have missed KP and Swann, and no doubt the Black Caps will find the England tour considerably more difficult, but all bar the under-cooked Jonny Bairstow had something to offer in the past month or so. Maybe NZ have uncovered new stars in Williamson, Boult and Rutherford, but they will surely be overpowered this summer. While the shocking assault on Jesse Ryder today also puts cricket into perspective, it is heartening to see a low-ranking side give the big boys a real run for their money. Meanwhile, Prior will continue to keep English spirits high - along with his amazing Test batting average.
