New Zealand cricket captain Ross Taylor says he was prepared to bat with a broken arm to save the drawn third Test against South Africa in Wellington.

Taylor raced to the Basin Reserve late on the final day after getting a call at his hotel asking if he would pull on the pads if necessary.

He battled Wellington traffic to arrive with five overs left.

“You don’t often get a chance to save a Test match so I drove down.

“The boys were looking pretty solid so I didn’t have to don the whites,” he told reporters.

Kane Williamson scored an unbeaten 102 and shared in a seventh-wicket stand with Doug Bracewell to save the match with the Black Caps 6-200 at the close and Taylor was full of praise for the young pair.

“Kane, especially, batted outstanding well but I think Doug Bracewell can take some credit. Two 21-year-olds batted very maturely for their age.”

Taylor’s left forearm was fractured by a ball from Morne Morkel on the fourth day and he was recovering from surgery on Tuesday when the call came to get to the ground.

He was due to depart on Friday for a stint in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Daredevils and is still hopeful of playing in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament if given the green light by medical staff.

“I’m not saying that I won’t go to India.

“We’ll just see what the medical staff say, I’ve always listened to them and when they say I’m ready, I’m ready – I won’t be going against their word.”

Taylor will wear a protective arm guard when he bats again.

“I don’t really want to wear one but I’ll be wearing one for the next year or so.”