Talk of 'match-fixing' dismissed as Pukekura Park rained out again

For the second day in succession, play in the under-19 Test between New Zealand and South Africa at New Plymouth was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Heavy overnight rain was followed by persistent falls from a heavy cloud cover that has no wind to move it on.

The forecast for tomorrow is for showers. However, the parched conditions that have prevailed in the Taranaki region of New Zealand this summer (except when cricket is scheduled here) mean that the deluge of the past 36 hours has drained straight through to the subsoil. If the rain does stop overnight, play should start on time tomorrow.

CricInfo asked New Zealand manager Dayle Hadlee if there was any prospect of a contrived finish to the game by means of forfeitures and declarations, with South Africa being set a fourth innings run chase.

Hadlee's first response was that he had not given the matter any thought, but it took him only a couple of seconds to do so and to produce a forthright answer.

"This is Test cricket," he said. "We want our team to learn how tough Test cricket is. We don't intend to give South Africa anything."

A negotiated climax to the Centurion Test between South Africa and England in January 2000 was a key event in the Hansie Cronje betting scandal, so it is unlikely that any team wearing South African national colours would wish to be involved in such an arrangement anyway.

It appears that New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum's 121 ball century will remain the highlight of the match, just as his batting has been the memorable feature of the series as a whole.

If play does resume tomorrow, New Zealand will begin on 266 for seven.

A three-match one-day series between the teams begins on Friday at Owen Delany Park, Taupo.