Brendon McCullum

Profile

Brendon McCullum is arguably the best wicket-keeper batsman that the Black Caps have ever produced. The successor of Adam Parore has over the years, become a crucial cog in the Kiwi set-up.

McCullum who debuted for Otago in 1999 played his first ODI in 2002 but struggled to get going in his first two years of international cricket. However, from 2004 onwards, a steady improvement in the batting charts not only saw him establish himself in ODIs but also inspired confidence in the selectors to give him a break in Test cricket. In his debut Test against South Africa, McCullum went on to score 57 in the first innings and also prized three catches. He scored his maiden Test hundred against Bangladesh in only his seventh Test and came up with a few more good knocks but as a general trend for wicket-keepers, continued to be wasted in the middle order. McCullum’s luck started changing following the 2007 World Cup, when Daniel Vettori took over the captaincy reins from Stephen Fleming. Vettori wasted no time in promoting the Otago-man to the top of the order and McCullum returned his captain’s favour with knocks of 81 and 96 against South Africa and Australia. The inaugural IPL was set alight with his breath-taking 158, and at one stage he had notched up four consecutive fifties in T20Is.

An acrobatic keeper improving over time, McCullum gave up on his wicket-keeping gloves in Tests to concentrate on batting but still remained sharp and safe in the outfield. A belligerent batsman, McCullum can win games for his team single-handedly when in form.

Fast Facts

• Brendon McCullum went on to become the second player to score a century in all three formats of international cricket, after Chris Gayle.
• He was also the first player to reach the 1000-run mark in T20Is.
• McCullum is only the second Kiwi batsman to hit more than 100 sixes in ODIs.
• 'Baz’ became the third Kiwi keeper to have affected more than 150 dismissals in Tests.
• He emerged as the first New Zealand player to have affected more than 400 dismissals as a fielder (including wicketkeeper) in all formats of the game combined together.
• McCullum won the ICC '’T20 Performance of the Year’' in 2010 for his unbeaten 116 against Australia coming off just 56 balls.
• He became the first New Zealand wicket-keeper to make 200 ODI dismissals.
• McCullum comes from a family of cricketers: his father, Stuart McCullum is a former NZ domestic player, whereas Nathan also represents the national team along with Brendon.
• He was the first player in the history of IPL to score a century.

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Career

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