NZ settle for draw
New Zealand were forced to settle for a draw against the English Lions at the Rose Bowl on Sunday as their winning momentum ground to a halt ahead of the first Test against England.
Having seen off Essex convincingly last week, the tourists were hopeful of beating the Lions to boost their preparations prior for the Lord's Test on Thursday.
But after being set a challenging victory target of 368 off a minimum of 75 overs, New Zealand never really threatened to reach it and finished the final day on 201 for four.
The Lions had begun the final day 282 ahead on 275 for five hoping to declare on a challenging total.
They achieved their objective thanks to the aggressive strokeplay of off-spinner Graeme Swann, who hit a quickfire half-century to allow the declaration nearly an hour before lunch.
Needing a solid start if they were to chase down their target, New Zealand were provided with the platform with Jamie How and Aaron Redmond sharing a 150-run opening stand.
But the loss of four wickets in 13 overs effectively ended the tourists' hopes of victory with leg-spinner Rashid enhancing his flourishing reputation by dismissing both openers.
Redmond, who hit a brilliant first innings century to ensure his Test debut at Lord's, attempted to accelerate towards the victory target after tea and mis-timed an attempted drive straight to mid-on for a superb 64.
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