Another New Zealand case of what might have been

Brendon McCullum Declared, with Greg McGee. Published by Mower Publications.

Brendon McCullum achieved, for a New Zealander, a significant place in cricket.

Just how that will be remembered, time will tell. There's no doubt he had an impact on the game with his blistering batting when on song. He retired with a dossier full of statistical credits.

Second highest run scorer in New Zealand's Test cricket with 6453, behind Stephen Fleming's 7172.

The highest score by a New Zealand batsman in Tests, 302, and the fastest century by any player in the world off 54 balls, and he has the three fastest Test centuries by a New Zealander.

He achieved the world record for most sixes hit in Test cricket with 107.

Second on the list of New Zealand wicketkeepers' dismissals with 179, behind Adam Parore on 201 – a feat that would have been significantly improved had it not been for back issues that forced him to give up 'keeping.

He was third on the list of Test appearances with 101, behind Daniel Vettori on 113 and Stephen Fleming on 111 and third also on the list of ODI appearances (260) and ODI runs (6083).

He captained NZ in 31 Tests, won 11, lost 11, drew nine, averaged 45.28 as captain, 38.64 as not and he captained NZ in 62 ODIs, won 36, lost 22.

There are many other credits in his career, including that memorable knock to launch the IPL cricket phenomenon that elevated his personal wealth quite significantly.

He led the New Zealand side in a distinctive fashion, not always with the support of the entire cricket community, but definitely in how he felt the game should be played. It was a policy that won praise from those who had wondered at cricket's direction on the field, even if it didn't quite deliver as many wins as it might.

The fact he was in the position to impose that style of play came after a harrowing transfer of power that is the subject of a thorough scrutiny in his autobiography, rightfully pointing out that it wasn't of his making. The manner in which the whole affair was conducted was yet another indictment of the way New Zealand Cricket too often operates. A world where smoke and mirrors come to mind.

Similarly, the manner in which the International Cricket Council handled the anti-corruption episode involving McCullum whose evidence against former team-mate, and hero, Chris Cairns was leaked to an English newspaper.

This treatment made a mockery of the entire anti-corruption system and would have been laughable were the subject matter not so serious. There are times when international sports administrators demonstrate an ineptness that defies belief, and this was one of them.

Either you take corruption in the game seriously or you shouldn't bother. This instance was not a good demonstration of intent. It ranked with the IOC's miserable failure to deal with the Russian drugs issue ahead of the Rio Olympic Games – a complete and utter indictment of the IOC system.

If there was one element to his game that McCullum inevitably shared with many of his New Zealand contemporaries it was the 'what might have been' factor.

Specifically, this related to summation of events by the belief that the action was reasonable because that was how he played the game. That's fine to a point but there comes a time in any sport, in any contest, when the relevance of the now, the key moment, the turning point in a game, occurs.

That is when the cleverness, the nous, the understanding, the difference between winning and losing occurs. That is when greatness is demonstrated.

History will show, as it has with several other top New Zealand cricketers, that greatness eluded McCullum. Too often opportunities to win were lost because to have pulled back a little, to have made a subtle change of course, would have meant departing from a basic, but sometimes flawed, philosophy.

Cricket is a game of many lessons. In it, there is nothing new under the sun. McCullum may never have heard of former Australian captain and opener, and television commentator, Bill Lawry's adage, "You play 110 percent to win and you play 150 percent not to lose." Even if the concept is mathematically impossible, the message is clear.

If he had applied it, there might have been an even rosier hue to his final career record.

No more obvious example exists than what was seen in the 2015 World Cup final. New Zealand had performed brilliantly in securing their first final place. The cricket world was their oyster.

But at a time when instinct over-ruled pragmatism, McCullum succumbed. Batting first, the opportunity was there to unsettle the Australians, to knock them off their game, to make them wonder what New Zealand had up their sleeve?

History had its own example of that 'something different' when Martin Crowe and Warren Lees achieved that back in the 1992 World Cup by unleashing Dipak Patel as an opening bowler with his off-spin as the prelude to a sensational win.

Instead of leaving the Aussies to scratch their heads and wonder where things were going, New Zealand blew it when McCullum rolled the dice unnecessarily early and departed in the first over – opportunity lost. That was the way he played the game – and while he might feel there were no regrets, that won't be a feeling shared by a cricketing public who had waited 39 years for New Zealand to win a Cricket World Cup.

New Zealand fans, many of whom were new to the game and the success of the men capped in black, hoped this might be the time. But it was a case of situation normal, another setback of the variety to which New Zealand cricket fans have been inured over the years. Cleverness, of the opportunistic type, is something other countries do better.

'Brendon McCullum Declared' leaves no doubt about McCullum's approach to his career. It is a fascinating insight into performance in top-level sport and is crafted in a manner expected of such a fine writer as Greg McGee but it also serves as yet another reminder of 'what might have been'.

'His class is reflected in his statistics, but his elegance is carved into the memory'

We knew it was coming but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens and Martin Crowe's death will be felt widely by family, friends, cricket fans and sportspeople generally.

Simply put he was one of the great New Zealand sportsmen.

His class is reflected in his statistics, but his elegance is carved into the memory.

Where do you begin to describe the assault Crowe made on your appreciation of batsmanship?

Even when under a fierce barrage from Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee in his Test debut, Crowe looked the part. He admitted later he had been introduced too soon into the Test arena and while he took a little time to get over the shock, the readjustment wasn't too long in coming.

His career is littered with batting brilliance and the example in technique, timing and power when necessary will live long in the minds of followers of cricket.

Some chronological memories:

+ His innings of 66 in the Bushfire ODI in Sydney in March 1983, 363 days after his Test exposure to the Aussie fast men, signalled he was back. Playing on a wet wicket Crowe's technique was superior and demonstrated what lay ahead.

+ After what for him was a disappointing tour of England in 1983, he scored his maiden Test century on the Basin Reserve in a return series with England, a sizzling early cover driven four from Bob Willis' bowling became a trademark shot.

+ Consistency had been an issue in the next 18 months or so, but come Brisbane in 1985, there was no doubting his place among New Zealand's great batsmen with 188, a scored he made twice in a calendar year after an earlier score in Georgetown, Guyana, at the Gabba in the innings victory over Australia.

+ Back on home turf, in the return series against Australia, at Lancaster Park, he took one on the chin and had to leave the field with blood pouring from a wound. But when he returned the assault on the bowling was belligerent and fierce in his effort of 137.

+ At Lancaster Park again his 83 against the West Indies in 1987 helped set up a famous victory which allowed New Zealand to level the series against the world champions.

+ His 299 against Sri Lanka was notable for the world-record third wicket partnership of 467 he enjoyed with Andrew Jones.

+ Will his century in the opening game of the 1992 World Cup against Australia on Eden Park ever be forgotten? It was the start of the most remarkable month of his career as New Zealand came within a hamstring pull of winning the World Cup.

+ The 91 he scored in an ODI at Hamilton against Australia, a game in which Jeff Wilson launched his international career, was notable for the fact that he batted on one leg and still produced the brilliance associated with him in full flow.

+ There were the two centuries on what was his farewell tour of England, 142 at Lord's and 115 in Manchester.

Sadly the career ended with an ODI in Nagpur, India in which his parting contribution was 63.

The prize of a triple Test century was denied Crowe at the Basin Reserve against Sri Lanka and that may have been the last time he enjoyed batting with complete confidence that his legs, which would ultimately end his career, could allow him to flourish.

In the second Test of that series, in Hamilton, Crowe was running back from the slips to field a ball and suffered a horrendous twist in the knee, the same knee that had caused him to end his schoolboy rugby career.

It was the same leg that would see his hamstring falter in the all-important World Cup semi-final against Pakistan a year later. And that leg would eventually force him to the realisation that he was no longer able to continue.

Having had the chance to watch Crowe in action as a journalist covering the game, to help him pen his always interesting columns, there was also the chance to see him in action during a triumphant period of Wellington cricket in the early 1990s.

On days when he and his great mate Richard Reid opened the batting in one-day games for Wellington, crowds were queuing outside the Basin Reserve from 7 o'clock in the morning to see them tear opposing sides apart. They rarely failed to please.

In his pomp Crowe could stride to the wicket leaving the watcher in complete confidence that his wicket would never be thrown away. He loved scoring runs, he cherished the battle and no bowler could rest easy. Sir Richard Hadlee for one could never claim his wicket.

There were times when he was misunderstood, criticised, sometimes of his own making, but there was never any doubt that to him the game was the thing.

It is a travesty that more was not made of his expertise by New Zealand Cricket but he wouldn't be the first person to suffer that fate in New Zealand cricket, or New Zealand sport. The failure to utilise those who have gone before, to seek knowledge before having to reinvent the wheel,  is one of the indictments of New Zealand sporting administrators.

The fortunate thing for future generations of cricketers is that access to much of his batting is readily available through online carriers like YouTube.

The illness that claimed his life was sad, he had so much still to offer but there can be no doubt that Martin Crowe has left a cricketing legacy for the ages.

McCullum has chance to blaze another trail

Brendan McCullum's success in overcoming all the exterior stress in leading his side to one of the more definite New Zealand Test cricket successes in Sharjah on Sunday may not be the end of his rewards this year.

 

It was New Zealand's 78^th Test victory, and its eighth Test win over Pakistan.

Completing the fourth double century of his career en route to 202, McCullum moved closer in second place behind Stephen Fleming on the all-time New Zealand Test run scoring list with 5653 runs, 1519 runs behind while he also gained a share of the New Zealand second wicket partnership record  of 297 runs with Kane Williamson thus supplanting John Wright and Andrew Jones 241 against England in 1991-92.

However, McCullum broke one of the longer standing New Zealand batting records during his innings.

McCullum lifted his total of runs scoring in the calendar year to 969, the most by a New Zealander.

John R Reid lost the grip he had held on that statistic since 1965 when McCullum reached 872 runs, as he posted his 105^th run during his innings.

That was a significant achievement and leaves McCullum with the chance, in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch starting on Boxing Day, to become the first New Zealander to achieve 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.

Reid's was a significant record to break given he played in an era of reduced Test match opportunities, and the occasion was helped in 1965 by New Zealand playing a home series against Pakistan before setting out to tour India, Pakistan and England, one of the busiest years in their Test history to that point.

However, the mark has been under an assault in recent times with Ross Taylor, who got within six runs of beating the record last year having four of the greatest annual accumulation of runs among the top seven occasions.

Martin Crowe also got close with 820 runs during his great year of 1985, part of which included New Zealand's innings victory over Australia in Brisbane.

It should be noted that Kane Williamson ended the Test on 844 runs and he too has the chance to finish the year not only passing Reid's mark, but also scoring 1000 runs.

McCullum's appetite for runs has been central to the team doing so well and finally starting its move up the ICC Test rankings while the support of Williamson and Taylor, and the emerging value of Tom Latham has given New Zealand the sort of batting stability that is vital to its continuing climb to Test match competitiveness.

To have completed such an outstanding victory in foreign conditions by out-spinning the home team speaks volumes for McCullum's side.

It should not be forgotten that it has long been an adage of the New Zealand game that if a bowler can take 10 wickets in a match, that is a significant step along the way to achieving a Test match victory.

Mark Craig's 10 for 203 was the 25^th occasion a New Zealand bowler had taken 10 wickets, and he was the 15^th bowler to achieve the feat.

Most runs by a New Zealander in a calendar year:

B McCullum		969	64.6	2014
J R Reid		871	36.39	1965
R Taylor		866	72.17	2013
M Crowe		820	51.25	1985
R Taylor		819	54.6	2012
R Taylor		818	38.95	2008
R Taylor		782	55.86	2009
B Sutcliffe		774	51.6	1954
N Astle		769	45.24	1999
B McCullum		758	75.8	2010
M Crowe		751	62.58	1987
S Fleming		737	46.06	2004
J Wright		705	78.33	1990
G Turner		676	96	1972
M Richardson		663	60.27	2001
B Congdon		641	27.87	1969
S Fleming		631	70.11	2003
S Thomson		631	39.44	1994
B Young		623	44.5	1997
M Crowe		598	46	1992
C McMillan		587	39.13	2000
K Rutherford		571	43.92	1993
S Fleming		570	47.5	2006
J Wright		566	40.43	1984
M Burgess		565	35.31	1976
G Howarth		560	56	1978
L Vincent		541	49.18	2005
A Jones		513	102.6	1991

Brendon the Magnificent

Through all the ups and downs of New Zealand cricket it had been wondered if modern batsmen had the temperament to play the sort of defensive match-saving innings that Mark Greatbatch immortalised at Perth in 1989.

Brendon McCullum demonstrated the know-how and determination is still there with a priceless effort at the Basin Reserve, and in the process became the first New Zealander to achieve 300.

Both the Greatbatch and McCullum innings started in similar fashion attempting to fend off defeat. Greatbatch scored 146 and batted long enough to deny Australia the time they needed to push for a victory.

However, McCullum went one better and played New Zealand into a position where they could push for a win. That made his effort all the more impressive. Interestingly, it continued the historic fact that of the eight 300s scored by New Zealanders in first-class play, six of them have had connections with Otago. Bert Sutcliffe scored his two 300s and Roger Blunt his playing for Otago. Glenn Turner scored his playing for his English county Worcestershire while Ken Rutherford and Mark Richardson were representing New Zealand when they scored theirs. The odd man out is one of the openers in this Test Peter Fulton who broke the cycle for Canterbury when he scored his 300.

Along the way he secured another world record for New Zealand with his sixth-wicket partnership of 352 with BJ Watling, whose involvement in the match-saving effort should not be forgotten as he posted his third Test century.

McCullum was required to play out of character and it was that aspect of his innings that was most endearing. The further he went the greater the demonstration of his batsmanship and it was an outstanding example of his skill which deserves to be fully acknowledged by the sometimes unforgiving New Zealand public.

Test cricket is the most exacting testing ground for players, and the feats that are remembered longest about players are those associated with the Test match game.

McCullum has engineered two home series wins this summer and has enjoyed having good support around, most notably from Ross Taylor who had his own batting moments to savour against the West Indies.

These are the efforts around which New Zealand's recovery and movement up the Test rankings are built around. Add to that the achievement of securing an effective bowling attack and the future looks rosier. And then there is the emergence of two genuine all-rounders in Corey Anderson and James Neesham with a superb century on debut in Wellington, and there is even greater hope.

No greater example of the hold McCullum has taken on the team could have been imagined than his Wellington innings. He is already among the greats of the New Zealand game and more rewards surely lie ahead.