Rain frustrates England

England's bid to wrap up a 2-0 Investec Test series win over New Zealand was delayed by rain on the fifth morning at Headingley.

As forecast, early showers rendered the planned 11am start time impossible - frustrating the hosts in their attempt to take the last four wickets they need for victory.

New Zealand, at 158 for six and still 310 runs away from victory, will be more than content to stay in the pavilion.

If weather does intervene, England will face criticism for the conservative approach to winning this game.

They first declined to enforce the follow-on and then batted on for a long period of time in their second innings to set an implausible winning target of 468.

Even with that many runs in the bank, captain Alastair Cook surprised some observers by his lack of close catchers on Monday evening.