Iain O'Brien and Daniel Vettori's only plan on the fifth day of the third Test in Wellington was to bat for as long as they could © Getty Images

It's probably about time I sat down and did a bit of a catch up, starting with the final day of international cricket for the summer in New Zealand.

Originally, I was going to get this done sitting in the departures lounge of Auckland Airport as I waited for me flight to the UK to join up with Leicestershire, but as I am still sitting here in Wellington, over a week after my original departure date I thought it was about time got this all down.

So, Day 5 of the Test match, our only task was to save it, to fight it out for a draw. One thing we had in our favour was the rain forecast for the middle of the afternoon that would probably stick around for the rest of the day. The pitch was still flat, no real wear and tear and the windy day makes it hard to bowl; so we had a chance to do something strong, not roll over and hang in there for the day, or at least till the rain came.

I was batting with Dan when ‘that’ rain came in. Rossco had been brilliant, a great hundred at a time when we needed a couple of guys to stand up and save a Test match. The other guy that stood up was Franky, his 50 and partnership with Rossco was the game saver. Although very secretly and humorously, I think I saved that Test match single-handedly. Ha! Eight down and I joined Dan. Our only plan was to bat for as long as we could, hang in there and hope the wind died down so that the rain could pass over the ground. Wellington has a funny weather pattern. If it’s windy, really windy, like it was, it won’t rain at the Basin; the rain hangs about the hills and doesn’t fill in the gap in between.

We could see the clouds filling in out the back of the ground; the hills were slowly disappearing. A good sign if you don’t want to lose a Test match. I had decided that if I got a bad ball I’d hit it from Sachin. He had troubled a couple of the guys and picked up two wickets. I didn’t want to be his third and I didn’t want him to be able to get away with bad balls. I got a couple of full tosses, one I hit straight to Sharma at square leg, not clever, but, fortunately for me, be put it down and we lived on. It was Sachin's googly that I was most worried about. I got a shortish leggie that I cut for four and the next ball was the googly from about the same area. For some reason, I just forgot about the googly, and went to cut this one, then, as it spun back into me a bit sharper than I then thought it would, I had to change my shot and only just got some wood on it. I then started reading what I was going to get. I was trying to predict what he was going to bowl to me and make sure I was in the right place to a) not get out and b) hit runs.

I was doing okay to Harbhajan, no real intent to score off him, but I still didn’t want him to be able to bring to many guys in close looking for a bat pad. I kept trying to sweep him early in the over, to get a single and therefore off strike, and then keep him out towards the end so that I wouldn’t be on strike early in the next. It was the formula that I had used through the series and it’s been working. I’ve doubled my Test match runs in these three tests. I had 61 runs in my previous 14 Tests. I scored 61 in these three Tests, and am really happy that the hard work I’ve been putting in on my batting is paying off for me and the team.

The rain was getting closer and Zak was brought back on with the wind behind him. He’d been brilliant throughout this whole series. The last throw of the dice before the rain came in. Dan and I had spoken a couple of overs ago about trying to slow things down as much as possible in between balls and overs. We had to try everything to give the rain as much time to get to us. I know it’s negative but I would rather draw a Test match that we can’t win than lose it. We’d managed to slow things down a little, but not much, it’s not that easy to do it when you are out there. Intentions are easy; carrying it out sometimes is harder!

With Zaheer coming back, his longer run up and a change in field meant there were a couple of delays that Dan and I were happy about. At one point, off a very short run up, Zaheer started his run up before my head was up and ready, a great chance to pull out, take up some more time and make him start the ball again. I did much to the disapproval of the Indian guys around me. But you could also tell that they would be doing the same thing as the smiles behind the words said something else.

Half way through the over the rain came in quite heavy, Dan turned and started to walk off, almost not waiting for the umpires to call it. I tucked my bat under my arm and followed him. We’d made it; we’d got through to the rain.

The next two hours were spent wondering the halls of the Basin, checking on the weather and hoping it would stick around. The covers came off twice in that time and were then hastily put back on.

And that brought an end to the Indian summer. A 1-0 Test series loss to close out a summer that wasn’t great but it wasn’t too bad either.

I’ll be back in a couple of days with an update of what’s been happening in the last week, and a couple of possible changes to the blog....

My summer of bowling has finished and I have just had a real good feed of fried chicken, approved and signed off by both our trainer and physio. I need to put some weight back on my body and fried chicken is a good place to start. I haven't had a feed like that for a very long time and I am actually not feeling the best after it, as my body isn't used to a high-fat meal at the moment. But I'll survive and I'm sure I'll be okay in the morning.

So, we're chasing down 600-plus, well not really chasing it down but we're out there hanging tough to draw this match. Chasing that score, on any deck, has never been done, not even close and it won't be done here in Wellington. Time is the only thing against us and with us.

India batted for over an hour this morning. I opened from the Adelaide Road end into the wind. I wasn't feeling as strong or quick as I was the night before even after a good rest and massage; all the bowling has really taken its toll on my body. My first couple of overs went just fine, lines ok, lengths not bad. And then Yuvraj happened; eighteen off one over. Three fours and a six, and my lengths weren't too bad, maybe a touch short, but not so much that I deserved to be hit like I was. He can play. Though it did loosen him up and Tommy got him to go hard on the drive and nick one through to Rossco at first.

Tommy then claimed his second of the morning when Timmy took his first Test catch at fine leg. It also just happened to be his second and third catch as he juggled it a couple of times before safely coming up with a smile and ball in hand.

It was great to be off the park and to take the bowling boots off for the last time in NZ for a while, the boots got thrown towards the bin as they won’t be coming with me to the UK and I have another pair ready to go.

No matter what, there is always that nervous feeling as the boys go out to bat. It's just in a cricketer’s nature to be nervous and sometimes for no real reason at all. The new ball was always going to be the tough part to get through. The Basin deck has been, for a long time now, one where the new ball does a little - as seen yesterday, when I got one to jag back to VVS. This was the danger time, the first 15 to 20 overs of the new ball combined with Khan, who's in great form; and he got two in that time.

We were four down when bad light stopped play at drinks in the last session; Rossco and Franky got us through from 84-4 to the inevitable early close of play at 167-4. For this Test, daylight savings is coming in very handy.

Day five tomorrow, the last day of international cricket this summer in NZ. It's been a long season and only one warm-up left, and it's a batting warm-up too. I'm hopeful of not needing to bat tomorrow, but if called on I am looking forward to trying to break my new PB that I set in the first innings; I only have 19 to beat, but that's a lot of runs when you only average around 5.

Well, it wasn't quite a scythe that we took to the Indian batsmen, more a small, not so sharp, butter knife; but we hung tough and were rewarded with two wickets just after lunch and then a couple late in the day.

It was always going to be a hard day, the pitch was flat, the wind was going to be tough to deal with and our bodies are sore and tired; it was going to be Test cricket, plain and simple.

We obviously wanted early wickets and they just didn't come. I started up wind, where I have made a name for myself here in Wellington. My first couple of overs were okay, but not great, I couldn't quite find my areas and I have a feeling I was trying too hard. I finished up wind and soon had a go down the breeze. Now I was really trying too hard here to bowl fast and I didn't do my job very well. I wanted to bowl quick, hit the deck hard and then see if I could get a 'wafty' drive for a nick to pick up a wicket. I was too straight and then too wide to Gautam Gambhir and didn't really get to bowl to Rahul Dravid. I really wanted to bowl to the right-hander but just couldn't manipulate the over to get Dravid on strike.

Tough first session. I got into the changing room and lay down on the floor next to my gear bag, pulled my jersey over my head and wanted to go to sleep. I was really done at this stage. Energy was gone and I just wanted lie there, not move, just go to sleep. I couldn't though, Baz [McCullum] wouldn't leave me alone. Sometimes you do need others to get you up, to keep you going; normally I have more than enough of that spirit, but right then I was done, and those couple of words from Baz were enough to get me up and to the lunch room for a meal. After a meal, I headed back to my seat in the changing room. The coach came over and checked how I was. I told him I was, well, tired. He went off to see our trainer and our nutritionist to see what could be done. I had a 'squeezy': basically a high sugar gel shot, and a strong cup of coffee, in a pill form. It would take a bit to kick in but I was hopeful that I could get through the next session feeling okay.

Dan [Vettori] started up after lunch and we had success pretty much straight away. A really clever piece of keeping from Baz brought the downfall of 'The Wall.' Dravid swept one straight into Baz's guts as he shot down the leg side to cover the shot, and it stuck. Genius! Next in was Sachin Tendulkar. Now this guy has looked so good the whole tour. From his one-day hundred and plenty in Christchurch, his 160 at Hamilton and his runs in the first innings, he just looked like he belonged at the batting crease. Dan got him to nick a slower one to Rossco [Taylor] at slip and we had a double breakthrough and had seen the back of two amazing cricketers. I bowled a six-over spell down wind in this second session, I just thought I'd try to get through it by being as 'dry' as possible, trying to give away as few runs as possible. Two maidens in my first three overs and then I, again, got straight to Gambhir, who was still in and looking solid. Not my best spell, but not my worst and I had found a nice little rhythm with the wind at my back.

At tea it was a protein bar and a couple of waters for me, I was feeling a bit stronger now and had got past that lethargic phase that went through in the morning session. I didn't bowl too late in the session, we took the new ball and I got first crack with it into the wind.

I really wanted to do my job up into the breeze and I had a new 'rock' to get to work with. Success! I got a touch straight to Gambhir, again, but this time, the new ball, with a little more pace off the deck, got past his bat and into his pad. I went up and was absolutely certain that it was out, so much so that my appeal started with my back to the umpire in a “that's just out” appeal that McGrath used to do. I had a wicket - Gambhir, who has played so well on this tour. And we had a new batsman out there to come hard at.

My next over and VVS was on strike. My only plan was to stay quite full and have him drive me through the off side, well try to drive me, anyway. I hit a real good length and, somehow, got the ball to deviate back off the seam into the top of off. That's a great feeling: going through the gate, on a good deck, to a great player who is in and seeing off stump rock back a little. After the day’s play was over and I had done my hot colds, showered and was sitting in the shared eating room, VVS came in and we had a quick little chat about the delivery. He was amazed at how sharply it came back into him. I've seen it on the replay a couple of times and I don't know how I got it to do what it did. I'll take it, don't worry about that. The only thing to take from it is to make sure you hit the seam with a new ball on a flat one, you just never know.

I was feeling really good now, the rhythm was great and I felt like I was bowling as fast as I had done in the match. I had some kick of the pitch and it was fizzing through. No more wickets, but I'm pretty sure I left an impression on MS Dhoni, well on his arm anyway.

The light called play to an end with about 35 minutes left in the day. We'll start 30 minutes earlier tomorrow to make up for it. I have no doubt that India will keep batting and to be perfectly honest, that probably suits up. Chasing 500 will be nigh on impossible so the more time India take out of the game by batting means there is less time for us to bat and hold out for a draw. So bat on boys, my body hurts enough as it is, another half day in the field won't do to much more to it, and you never know, I might pick up a couple more wickets.

Not the day I was hoping for is an understatement.

I sat down to write this a little earlier but wasn't really in a good mood and what I was typing was a little bit angry, I was having a bit of a moan about a few things, not related to today's play either. But I'll leave all that because I'm feeling better now; best not to blog angry, huh!?

Today didn't go to plan, I think it's fair to say. It started off pretty well, Tommy (Martin -> Marto > Tom Marto ... get it??) picked up Sharma, first ball of the third over of the day. We're off the park, boots off and feet up.

I spent the day switching between the changing room and the viewing area trying to change the luck of the guys out there. Don't move seats if someone is in, don't talk about how good someone is playing; these things can jinx or curse an innings. So I was up and about trying to find a place where the luck was good.

Khan bowled really well today, he seemed to have it on a string and even the bad balls ended up as good ones. I've bowled my share of short wide ones and they've ended up at the boundary, not wicket taking deliveries, it was with him today.

I was padding up just before tea, I was hoping to be tucking into a big feed as a part of a recovery day. Soon after tea I was in, Khan still bowling well and Singh drifting it and spinning it a little from the other. It was Baz [McCullum] and I again, hopeful of another partnership with him that would bring a little respectability to our score. We were going pretty well together, the pitch was playing pretty flat and I was feeling ok. I got a couple of very good bouncers early, the first one didn't miss by much, just pulling my head out of the way right at the last second. After those couple I was feeling better about picking up the ball and getting under the short ones. If I can get under a couple of bouncers early I start to feel a lot better about batting, it means I'm watching the ball and am picking it up early. When I fend and swing at early bouncers it means I am having issues seeing the ball and I may not last to long.

I hit my new top score today, 19. Nothing special, but still it's a personal best and I'm pretty happy about it. I should have and could have scored more too. I nicked one that I had been hitting well in defence trying to look for a single. I was disappointed to get out in that way on that track and it now meant that we had to go back out and bowl, that I was more disappointed about.

It hadn't been a warm day and it certainly wasn't warm heading back out to bowl now. The shadows were long, the wind was cold and most of us were pretty tired but we went out there to give it everything.

I got to do my usual role of bowling into the wind, it was quite a good breeze but tomorrow is set to be stronger again. I got through four overs pretty good and then got a crack down wind. I had been looking forward to this and was going to go real hard and crank as much out of my body as I could. I hit some pretty good speeds and I am looking forward to a good run down it tomorrow, although, my main role will be from the up wind end, where I'll have to work hard getting to the crease and concentrate harder as the wind can blow you off course at the top of the jump. It's more about muscling it there rather than using rhythm to get the ball down the other end.

Let’s hope for a good day tomorrow and that we can scythe through the most prolific run-scoring team there is.

	"I can tell you I was a very happy boy when he (Sehwag) nicked one, off me, through to Baz" © AFP

Just another day in the park, huh! The body is pretty tired, even my arms started to feel lethargic this afternoon; I could really do with a couple of days with my feet up watching our boys bat. We have a pretty damn good chance of that happening too, we need one more wicket tomorrow morning and then the boots come off, recovery continues, I'll eat plenty, drink lots, wear my compression tights and stretch lots. But that won’t happen until we get that last wicket.

Tough start today, we would have loved to have batted first on that pitch; it looks and has played like a good one-day wicket. Seeing as we need to win this Test to draw the series we had to take a chance, play the extra seamer and bowl first. It wasn't quite the start we'd hoped for though. Sehwag, again, took the attack to the new ball. He really has no regard for how openers 'should' play, it's exciting that's for sure and I can tell you I was a very happy boy when he nicked one, off me, through to Baz [McCullum]. It wasn't quite the length I was trying to bowl to him, it was the line though and when Dan [Vettori] got to the huddle to celebrate with us, and I got a big hug from him. We know how much getting Sehwag as early as possible changes the course of the first session and day.

Franky [Franklin], in the next over, removed Gambhir with a cross seamer that held its line and smashed into his pads. The game just changed and as it did in the first Test, it was around a drinks break. Franky and I, at home at the Basin, put a ten overs set together, two wickets and just 19 runs. Bowling in partnerships is such a huge thing in any cricket and when both guys get it right, or close to it, pressure from both ends, things often happen, the pressure has to be released somehow and it's those moments that can define a Test. It was in the last Test where the Indian batters absorbed everything we could throw at them in those pressure situations.

This first spell, though, wasn't what I was trying to do. Sure it was a good effort with Franky but my lengths weren't quite there and when I got my length right, I was too wide to be effective. At times like this it's important not to try searching too hard for the right things. It is important to get through it for the least expense as possible and to hang tough for the guy bowling from the other end.

Now, playing at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, is special. A true cricket ground, one of the few left in NZ. Grassy embankments, terrace seating, a couple of grandstands, tree-filled hills, and a gentle breeze and there really aren't too many more places in the world that I'd rather be. The sport mad and knowledgeable Wellington crowd filled every spot there was on the embankment, making for a great atmosphere and a good fun day. Thanks Wellington for coming out to watch, it's great to have you there! You certainly got your money's worth today.

After lunch I opened up and found my lengths almost straight away. I just had to concentrate on holding my action for a little bit longer at the top of my jump. Doing this though, meant my jump would be longer and I had to take my run-up marker back a touch. The ball started to swing a little for me too, just a little, not much, but enough to keep it interesting.

This afternoon after we had taken the new ball I had a chance to bowl to the tail. My second over here wasn't the best I'd bowled. To Zaheer Khan I didn't quite get it right and I went for four, four, four, four and then a two. One ball left, I bounce him, gloved through to Baz and obviously I'm pretty happy. I knew that I needed just two wickets to reach 50 Test wickets, I couldn't do it in the second innings in Napier, and my chance was today. This was my 50th Test wicket, something that I had forgotten until Guppy [Guptill] reminded me in the huddle, I was like “oh yeah, that's right.” I had completely forgotten. I'm really proud of reaching this little milestone. To be fair, it's 48 more than I thought I'd get after my first couple of Tests where I picked up two wickets at 98 apiece. This last year has been amazing and I have loved every minute of it (well almost, there's been some really tough times too).

Hopefully we'll pick up the last wicket tomorrow quickly and professionally and get off the park for a well-earned rest.

I know this is a day late, for that you must forgive me, or not.

Yesterday, when I would normally wrap up Day 5 and the Test match in this blog, was not a day for me to be doing too much; except that I was flat out trying to sort out recovery from the Test, travel plans, visa applications, get a hair cut, attending and speak at the Wellington Cricket Age Grade Prize Giving and then eating, which I had almost neglected all day. Not the day that I needed after three days (273 overs) in the field. The day I would have prescribed, in a perfect world, would have been a sleep in till 9 or 10, up for some breakfast, off to the pool for a swim and a spa and then the rest of the day doing nothing but eating and drinking water. That didn't happen, I was busy all day!

So, Day 5. We needed early wickets, two wickets, as I said, would hopefully open up the tail. We had to get two early to have a chance of getting the next couple with a harder newer ball and then the tail to come. Tommy (Chris Martin) opened up and he had Sachin caught by Baz (Brendon McCullum) at a time that kept us in the game. We then went as hard as we could, doing everything we could think of to dislodge VVS (Laxman) and Gambhir. I took over from Jeets (Jeetan Patel) and hit the crease hard, got through my first two overs with out really troubling either of these two. So the plan had to change. Dan (Daniel Vettori) and I decided I would just go as hard as possible at them, bounce them, bowl full, slower balls, just go through every variation looking for either something out of the deck or a mistake from the batters. Round and over the wicket to both, a lot of bouncers with a field set for hook shots and fended shots. I came as hard as I could for as long as I could, three times I asked Dan for “one more over” and he gave it to me, and then called me off after and eight over spell. It was good honest competition on a track that offered no variable bounce and very little spin doing everything we could to force a mistake.

I didn't feel to bad out in the park. My body was tired, sure, but I was still feeling energetic, still feeling like I could be the one to make a difference, the one to bowl a three-wicket spell and change the game. I didn't bowl a three-wicket spell, let alone take a wicket in the second innings, but I gave it everything until the bails were lifted mid way trough the last session of the match. I was happy with what I gave to the day. I kept my pace up right through the innings and even bowled my quickest ball of the match in my last spell. I did, though, miss a catch off Dan's bowling. I was at mid-on to Gambhir and Dan got him to hit one, pretty comfortably, to me about waist height just to my right. I saw it early, felt like I moved well to get in a good position, but I grassed it. I can't tell you why, it hit my left thumb, which was strange, never really went it and bumped out. I almost picked it up as it bounced out, but it was just out of my reach. This is about the worst feeling there is, dropping a catch of the skippers bowling! I spoke to Baz about it later and got his thoughts on what happened from his view. He watched it all the way to me and said that it actually 'swung' on the way to me really late. This would make sense as to why it hit my thumb as opposed to the middle of my hands. It's not an excuse, just something I have to watch for harder. More work I have to do to be better. I really wanted the ground to open, swallow me up and transport me to a different place. I even gave the earth a chance to by scratching a long line in the grass so that there was already an opening it could open up and take me away.

So the day finished, both teams shaking hands and we're a pretty tired, but happy team. That is a massive turn around from the Hamilton Test and had it been a boxing match, we would have won on points. It's not though, and the result is a draw, we trail the series 1-0 and are looking forward to playing back at the Basin; my favourite ground in NZ to bowl and play on. It's normally windy here and this is something I've learnt to do pretty well, bowl into the wind. It's a tough job and someone has to do it. I learnt early on, while playing for Wellington, that if I was to make it for Wellington I had to pick a tough job and do it well. Often there isn't a tougher job than bowling into the wind, so I picked that one as the one I would take on. If you find a job that no one else wants to do, learn to do it well, it's yours for as long as you can do it for, and that's been my secret on me making and staying in the Wellington team, and how I got my chance to play for the Black Caps.

This morning has been a little stressful, I've been trying to get a visa application sent away so that I can get over to the UK and play for Leicestershire CCC. It's been a tough process and time is really against me. I have tried to call in as many favours as I can to get it worked through quickly, but as the application has to travel to Canberra, Australia, to get completed, the travel time is probably what's going to kill me. Fingers crossed that the good people at the UK High Commission like cricket and push it through asap... please! Courier Post NZ and Pace Couriers NZ have been very helpful in getting it away as quick as possible, thanks heaps Jimmy and the others involved there! Fingers crossed there, hopefully it gets back to me before I intend to fly out on April 9.

A light couple of trainings this week for me and the other bowlers before we start on Friday in the last and most important Test match of the year. Of course they are all important, and in fact every Test match is the most important one of the year, but the next one is always the big one, and this one is huge.