By Mark Richardson New Zealand Test opener, Wellington

Next stop, England - or at least I hope so given my lack of form in the series against South Africa.

We love to stuff the Aussies but playing England in England has a kind of romance for us.

It was a disappointing series with the bat for yours truly

The South Africans have reduced my game to 'ground zero' but over the next month the rebuilding will begin.

And next month I plan to put my name on the honours board at Lord's.

To lose our chance of making history with a series win over South Africa was a major disappointment to our team, which is driven to acquire as many of these sorts of milestones as possible.

We are a proud bunch and are very protective of the record we have built up over the last few years.

We don't have the tradition of England, Australia and the West Indies; we don't get granted five-game Test series and often get scheduled for tours at lower profile times in the calendar.

So, when it comes to our standing in world cricket we play with a chip on our shoulders.

England tour: Full fixtures

We feel winning and gaining respect as a cricket power is so important. For every one step forward with a victory, we feel every Test loss is like two steps back.

In Wellington, South Africa showed us why they are ranked number two in the world. They were desperate to win and were able to channel that desperation in a positive manner.

The accuracy and intensity of their bowling was quite superb, they kept us scoreless for long periods and when they batted, they refused to buckle to any pressure we could exert.

We tried desperately to make inroads and I thought we bowled well but with true South African grit they prevailed in the end.

They say you never stop learning and I agree.

I nearly cried when Gary Kirsten left the field after his last Test innings

While I had a bad series I stood in the field and gained real motivation from their batters especially Graeme Smith, who has left a huge impression on me.

He is so organised in attack and defense, but most of all has a passion and determination like no one else I've seen.

All this and only 23 years old - he has one hell of a career in front of him.

Jacques Kallis is composure personified and Gary Kirsten, well, I nearly cried with him as he left the field after his last Test innings, a characteristically gritty 74 which took his team from trouble to glory.

He has been one of my role models and it was emotional for me to be there when he signed off.