Wellington: Play in the first test between New Zealand and South Africa resumed on Friday after a fire alarm in the main grandstand forced the evacuation of the venue and halted play for about 30 minutes.

The alarm started going off at University Oval in Dunedin after tea on the third day with South Africa 14 for one in their second innings, still 19 runs behind New Zealand’s 341.

The main stand, which houses the changing rooms, was being evacuated by security before an announcement was made that the entire venue had to be evacuated, causing confusion amongst the players and crowd.