New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum admitted England were the victors on points after rain washed out the final day of the second Test in Wellington.
The hosts were unable to resume their second innings on Monday due to persistent rain at the Basin Reserve, leaving the series still all-square at 0-0 and setting up a series decider in Auckland later this week.
New Zealand therefore finished on 162-2 second time around - still 49 runs adrift of England's 465 all out - after being forced to follow on.
"It was a draw at the end of the day and, I guess similar to the first Test match. If it's viewed as a points decision, I guess England will take this one," McCullum said.
"They dictated this one and we held on and showed some fighting qualities.
"I thought we were pretty average on day one. There was a little bit in the wicket that we could have got some more benefit from.
"We probably didn't bowl as well as what we needed to for as long as what we needed to against some quality batsmen.
"Our execution was off. We didn't put enough pressure on England long enough and when up against a fine batting line-up got to be able to exert pressure for a long time.
"From that point on, we were under pressure but we managed to stand up and sustain some pressure that was exerted on us by England, which is a really good sign for this team."
