Wet outfield ends Durban damp squib

The Durban Test was called off on day five, more than half an hour before the scheduled start of play, as the issues with the soft, damp outfield persisted. That meant 11 of the 15 sessions were lost to rain and the subsequent wetness and softening of the outfield.

The damage was caused by a substantial downpour after the second day's play when the recently relaid outfield took on 65 mm of water. Since then, there had been no rain, but the outfield - which was not fully covered when the rain came down - did not recover in the weak, winter Durban sun.

Three days ago, when the last of the cricket was played, New Zealand were 15 for 2 in response to South Africa's 263 with the ball swinging around significantly and the Test promising to be an interesting contest.