Brendon McCullum: New Zealand’s Brash Batsman
Fast, furious and fantastic scoring, are all qualities that characterise Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s top-order batsman and wicket-keeper. Behind the stumps and before the wickets, McCullum proves to be the protagonist. A player, who regards himself as
brash, confirms his aggressive play on the field, as his tremendous talent and ability to stroke the ball anywhere on the ground has earned him respect from many of the world’s top players. McCullum is the master of the short formats and a true aficionado
of the longer formats of play.
Scoring 90 in only his second Test series, smashing 115 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 five years later, becoming just next to Chris Gayle after scoring 155 in a T20 and reaching the top with 158 runs in an Indian Premier League innings, McCullum is a dynamic and passionate
batsman.
Brendon McCullum is the brother of Nathan McCullum, who is also in the national team, and son of Stuart McCullum, a long-serving first-class player. Like father like son, McCullum had a deep passion and love for cricket, as he started his cricket from the
college level and played for the Under-19. He then joined first-class cricket where he bagged many remarkable achievements. His highest averages in first-class cricket include 170 for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Glamorgan-c784 as
an opening batsman. These accomplishments paved his way for his selection into international cricket.
McCullum started his international career in 2002 with a One Day International against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. The New Zealander opened the innings and could score just 5. In the following years, he scored many match-winning and face-saving fifties and centuries for
his team.
In 2004 McCullum was in the field to play his first ever Test match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. In his maiden Test innings as a lower order batsman, he scored 57 from 86 deliveries with the help of 11 excellent fours. In the second innings, he opened and stayed
not out on 19 as the match was drawn. Starting his Test career with a fifty, McCullum went on to score 143 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 all within a few months after his Test debut. This made him the Kiwis’ top batsman.
McCullum’s career experienced a boom in 2007 when he scored 86 to take his side to victory in a 3-match ODI series against Australia. His match-winning 86 score was a part of the record 165 runs partnership with Craig McMillan. On the first ball of the last
over, McCullum stroked a marvelous six to meet the target. The Kiwis were the first to defeat the Kangaroos in an ODI series after 1997.
His T20 debut was in 2005 against Australia at Eden Park, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Auckland-c766. He opened the innings and scored 36 from 24 deliveries including 5 fours and 1 six. In 2010, McCullum stood just next to Chris Gayle by scoring 115 in a T20. In that same year, McCullum
became the world’s top scorer batsman with 1000 runs in T20 cricket.
The best innings of McCullum include a record breaking 50 from 20 deliveries, 96 from 103 , 80 from 28 , 50 from 27 , 80 from 47, 158 from 73, 166 in partnership of 266 with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/James-Marshall-c1650 and 131 from 129 deliveries.
During his a decade old career, the right-handed batsman has played 57 Tests, 185 ODIs and 40 T20s. His scorecard contains 3389 Test, 3807 ODI and the highest 1100 T20 runs. McCullum has 9 centuries, 44 fifties, 867 fours and 189 sixes. Being an alert and
active wicket-keeper, he has 399 catches and 28 stumps to his credit.
This tremendous record makes McCullum one of the top batsmen of the game. Now he is in the Subcontinent to play the ICC World Cup 2011 and it will be exciting to see how he takes charge and puts in a good contribution with the bat for the Kiwi’s. On the
basis of his previous records, it is hoped that he will surely excel and thrive in this tournament, steering his team to hold the World Cup for the first time.
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