Brendon McCullum

'Brash' - that is the word Brendon McCullum, easily the greatest of all the Kiwi glovesmen, and one of their finest batsmen, uses to define himself.

Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni might be the first names that come to mind when we discuss pyrotechnics-prone wicketkeepers, but this Kiwi hunk would definitely be a prime contender. Younger son of a First-Class player of Otago, this explosive stumper from Dunedin, New Zealand, was first selected for his country, not surprisingly, more on the back of his batting rather than his wicket-keeping skills. Predominantly favouring the leg-side, especially the cow corner, McCullum has made a name for himself by piling on quick runs as an opener in the 50 and 20-over format of the game.

In the longer version of the game, his first few centuries came against lesser opponents like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and, except for a 96 against England at Lord's, he didn't have any strong performances against the heavyweights to justify his place in the side. But all that changed in the fifth year of his career, when he racked up his third Test hundred against India in quick time at Napier in 2009. McCullum, followed it up by amassing a double ton laced with a blend of composure and savagery against India in Hyderabad. In 2010, McCullum, decided to relinquish the keeping mitts to focus on his batting.

With the fame of his batting pyrotechnics reaching far and wide, McCullum was one of the first to be snapped up at the auction of the inaugural IPL by KKR for a princely sum of $700,000. The defining moment of his career in the shortest format of the game, undoubtedly has to be his unbeaten 158 against RCB, in the first match of the inaugural IPL in 2008. The innings included as many as 13 sixes. He became the first man to score 1000 runs in T20 Internationals, and the first player to score two T20I centuries. One of his best performances in the format came in 2010 against Australia in Christchurch, when McCullum ramped and toppled on his way to an unbeaten 116, scooping Shaun Tait thunderbolts consistently for sixes, and recklessly led his team to what proved to be a match-winning total of 214.

In December 2012, McCullum became the captain of New Zealand, under rather controversial circumstances, from Ross Taylor. Under McCullum's captaincy, New Zealand were crushed 3-0 in the Test series by South Africa. However, they recovered to win the ODI series against the hosts and drew the Test series 0-0 against England at home. In fact, under his commendable leadership, the Kiwis haven't lost a Test series since their away tour to England in 2013.

In 2014, McCullum touched dizzying heights as a batsman. He became the first cricketer from New Zealand to reach the coveted landmark of a triple century against India in Wellington; and several New Zealand fans must have been relieved of the heartache caused by Martin Crowe's 299, all those years ago. He continued to bludgeon ridiculously brisk double-tons as he bludgeoned one off just 186 balls against Pakistan in Sharjah. However, he shrugged off the achievement and dedicated it to the memory of Phillip Hughes, who copped the fatal blow to his neck during the Test match in November 2014. In the Test series against Sri Lanka, he came close to breaking the record for quickest double ton in the history of Test cricket before he was dismissed for 195 off just 134 balls. He was also named the 'New Zealand cricketer of the year' in 2014. With 179 dismissals to his name, McCullum has also effected the second-highest number of dismissals by a New Zealand wicket-keeper.

In New Zealand's 3rd match of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, McCullum scored 77 runs of 25 balls recording the fastest fifty in world cup history (51 runs off 18 balls), and the 3rd fastest fifty in ODI history. He also scored a brutal 59 against South Africa in the semi-final. McCullum became the first Kiwi captain to lead New Zealand in the World Cup final, and his touching letter to school-teachers requesting them to give students the day off to watch the World Cup final was trending on social media at the time. However, he was bowled for a duck by Mitchell Starc and New Zealand were never able to recover from the blow.

McCullum continues to play T20 leagues around the world, and leads the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, and he has played 11 matches in two seasons for the Heat, scoring 370 runs at a destructive strike-rate of 158.80. McCullum, the holder of several T20I records, would be looking to lead from the front with the bat and take his strong team to the title in upcoming 7th edition of the Big Bash.

One of the fittest cricketers of the modern age, McCullum became the first player to make 100 consecutive Test appearances from his debut. He announced his retirement in the Christchurch Test against Australia in February 2016 at the age of 35. He recorded the fastest hundred in Test cricket in his final Test, hacking away at a potent Australian attack for 145 runs off just 79 balls, presenting his team and his fans with a signature farewell innings filled with audacity and daring.

From running Muttiah Muralitharan out as a 'brash' youngster to prevent a Sangakarra century, to apologizing to Sangakarra for it whilst delivering the Cowdrey Lecture in 2016, Brendon McCullum has come a long way in his career. He has matured as a cricketer to become an inspiration to his entire nation, and by extension, the entire cricketing fraternity. Baz has grown to be one of the most balanced cricketers of his age, playing with the expected level of aggression, and upholding the spirit of the game at the same time.

Interesting Facts:
Picked up by NSW for the final of KFC Big bash in 2009, he donated the fees from the game to Otago Junior cricket.

McCullum is married to Ellissa McCullum (née Arthur), an Australian from Caniaba, New South Wales. They have a son Riley and a daughter Maya.

His brother, Nathan, has also played for New Zealand as an off-spinning all-rounder

By Rishi Roy
As of December 2017