A docile University Oval pitch had the final say as the first Test between New Zealand and England hobbled to a draw in Dunedin.
Facing a first-innings deficit of 293, England reached 6-421 on Sunday for a lead of 128 before play ended 15 overs early.
Series underdogs New Zealand will take bragging rights into the second of three Tests, starting in Wellington on Thursday. They held the upper hand for much of game spoiled by a washout on the opening day and a further session lost to rain on Friday.
A late English collapse never appeared likely on a brown pitch which had offered few demons from start to finish.
Resuming at 1-234, England’s unlikely limpet was nightwatchman Steven Finn. The usual tailender defied the hosts for nearly five hours before falling lbw to spinner Bruce Martin for 56 early in the final session.
He was followed quickly by Joe Root, run out for a duck, but Ian Bell (26) and wicketkeeper Matt Prior (23) batted out the remainder of the day.
Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum praised the unflinching work of his bowlers for 170 overs in the field.
“To stand up and bowl as well as they did and for as long as what they did on a pretty unresponsive pitch, which was obviously still only a day-four pitch, it was a phenomenal effort,” he said.
“I thought even up until the last couple of overs there we were a red-hot crack (to win), if we could get into those (English) bowlers with the ball still new.”
McCullum said an announcement would be made on Monday about the fitness of seamer Doug Bracewell, who cut his foot last weekend to rule him out of the first Test.
His replacement, Neil Wagner, was the only bowler to generate some life on the final day, ending with 3-141 off 43 overs. He also took 4-42 in England’s first innings of 167.
Wagner claimed opener Nick Compton for 117 before lunch, followed by the prized scalps of Jonathan Trott for 52 and a struggling Kevin Pietersen for 12 in the second session.
However, lanky tailender Finn proved obstinate for a crucial 203 balls. He reached his maiden half-century soon after lunch and then set down the anchor, spending more than an hour stuck on 53.
Proven strokeplayer Pietersen is out of touch, having departed for a golden duck in the first innings. He scored 22 runs from his two knocks in a warm-up match at Queenstown last week.
England skipper Alastair Cook confirmed Pietersen was struggling with a knee injury but he expected the 32-year-old to be fit for the second Test.
Cook admitted his team were “lucky” to escape defeat after a sub-par first innings with bat and ball.
“We certainly felt after day one, they were 130 for none, we thought it was pretty much damage limitation from there on.
“We don’t expect anything. They’ve shown in this Test match, if you don’t play well you get punished.”