Brendon McCullum’s runs, leadership and self-belief have been instrumental in rescuing New Zealand cricket from its lowest ebb
Andrew Alderson20-Oct-2014At 11.46am on February 18, Brendon Barrie McCullum cut for four behind point against India at the Basin Reserve to become the first New Zealander to score a triple-century in 84 years of Test cricket.The stroke left an indelible mark on the country’s sporting history, but it signified more than a statistical freak show. As McCullum’s bat clamped down on the Zaheer Khan delivery he slayed some demons.”It showed we were prepared to fight bloody hard to make sure we didn’t roll over,” McCullum says of a team effort that staved off what many considered inevitable defeat.Coach Mike Hesson said of the innings: “It defined the way we want to play our cricket… and stopped a nation to a degree. As a New Zealander, not only as coach, it was a pretty special moment.”McCullum’s 559-ball, 775-minute endurance act further enhanced his leadership credentials, although most already considered his appointment justified with a Test series victory over West Indies and a one-day series victory over then-world No. 1 India. Proof has been further forthcoming with the first Test series victory against a top-eight nation in 12 years when they won in the Caribbean.Despite a formidable record as a wicketkeeper-batsman across all formats, McCullum has often been branded a pretender who talked more than he walked. His failures or frankness were kindling for talkback-radio bonfires. Hosts threw in a lit match and stood well back. The shredding of his reputation sometimes morphed into its own sport, despite longevity. He has played a New Zealand-record 87 consecutive Tests and the fourth-most ODIs (229).Yet on that overcast February day, New Zealand fans witnessed a feat to rank with the finest individual sporting accomplishments they will see in their lifetimes. McCullum received an ovation as he went out to bat. Queues waited to get into the ground, a rarity at a New Zealand Test. The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed each seminal moment. The enchantment came from a fan base that could have been forgiven for drifting into apathy after one of New Zealand cricket’s lowest ebbs.That ebb began when, in an operation best termed a “wisdom bypass”, New Zealand Cricket endorsed a presidential-style campaign for the national captaincy between McCullum and Ross Taylor in 2011 after Daniel Vettori relinquished the role post the World Cup.The pair were pitted against each other in the court of public opinion and interviewed by NZC-appointed panels, where McCullum lost.The post-script is well-documented. There was a change of coach, an appallingly managed transition from Taylor to McCullum in December 2012, a public outcry and the Taylor-less team’s dismissal for 45 against world No. 1 South Africa in Cape Town in McCullum’s Test captaincy debut.Former players rallied behind Taylor. John Parker launched a campaign and McCullum threatened to sue him over the release into the public domain of a document related to the saga. Parker issued a late retraction and public apology. McCullum paid for the case and did not seek monetary damages. He simply wanted an acknowledgment that Parker’s claims about his involvement in the captaincy transfer were false.The peaks and troughs continued last year. A strong showing at home against England was harpooned by a weak Test series and hollow Champions Trophy away, followed by tepid series in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. McCullum was understood to have exited fraught with exhaustion.A timely surge of form arrived. In eight Tests since December, New Zealand have won five, drawn two and lost one. In the same period theyhave won six out of nine completed one-day internationals and five out of eight T20Is, although two of the three losses ousted them from the World T20 in Bangladesh.
McCullum is lauded by those who know him well for donating overseas T20 income back to Otago, giving financial help to mates who have fallen on hard times, and always shouting his round
Then McCullum was besieged by the revelation he testified to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit that another player approached him to manipulate a game in 2008. The investigation is ongoing.Regardless of the escalating match-fixing controversy, McCullum’s triple-century remained the coup de grace in a summer of goodwill.With the World Cup returning to New Zealand for the first time in 23 years, the innings was the perfect entree to capture hearts and minds. Yet, to the captain, his 302 and world-record sixth-wicket stand of 352 with BJ Watling were not definitive factors in the team’s transition.”I look back and see the England series at home where the changes we made allowed us to compete with a very good team [then world No. 1] who had better playing numbers than us. We got draws rather than wins but enacted the blueprint we’d worked on. The team started to realise the sacrifices were worth it.”In New Zealand, talkback stations, social media and online feedback forums seldom hum with such bonhomie about cricket and, specifically, the national side. The occasions can be listed by month since Richard Hadlee’s retirement in 1990: February-March 1992 (World Cup), July-August 1999 (England Test series win), January-February 2002 (ODI tri-series in Australia), February 2007 (Chappell-Hadlee series whitewash). Slim pickings.”When it started I knew it was going to be tough,” McCullum says about the tumultuous period. “Not everyone agreed with the decision, so I took over the job in extreme circumstances but felt I was the best candidate and that the situation wasn’t beyond repair.”The first thing I did was crunch down what I believed was important to the team. What did we want to be known for? What were the key things people want to see when we play? As a result we’ve developed better fighting qualities.”Sure, the New Zealand public want to see us winning but it is more important to make it hard for the opposition to beat us, which is what we’re seeing. Most of the changes came off the field. Everyone talks about being instinctive but it’s an illusion because you can’t do that without planning.”The best New Zealand eras have coincided with exceptional captains who reflected the zeitgeist. The measured Walter Hadlee in 1949; the astute Geoff Howarth and cerebral Jeremy Coney of the 1980s; the street-wise Stephen Fleming heading into the 21st century. Over the next couple of years, and certainly the next six months with a home World Cup to savour, the robust McCullum could join their company. He already has a winning record of 29% (five Tests in 17). The wins have come in his last seven Tests. His average also reflects well as captain, albeit boosted by double and triple-centuries over the summer.He averages 43.14 with the captaincy, including three of his nine Test centuries, and 35.63 in 70 Tests without it.
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When someone becomes renowned in their chosen field, prophetic pictures often emerge showing engagement from a young age.McCullum: “Hesson wants to build a system that lasts for decades, not just his tenure”•AFPThis is true of McCullum. A snap circa 1987 is a newspaper favourite. He is swinging through the line of a delivery in a direction that will see the ball disappear somewhere over the off side. His eyes are locked on the approaching sphere. Similarly, at the Albion club in Dunedin, there is a shot of Brendon and brother Nathan in baggy whites leading out the club’s senior team under the watchful eye of their father, former first-class player Stu.McCullum became a schoolboy prodigy at King’s High School in Dunedin and gifted his original ODI shirt as a mark of respect.As the legend goes, in his sixth form year (today’s year 12) he was selected ahead of All Black great Dan Carter as first five-eighths for the South Island secondary schools side. He once played First XI football at 1pm in an inter-school match against arch-rival Otago Boys’ High School before guiding the First XV to victory from 3pm, including a solo try.By 21 rugby was an afterthought. He debuted for New Zealand in the 2001-02 ODI tri-series against Australia and South Africa.If he retired tomorrow, McCullum would leave a larger-than-life, mercurial legacy. Rarely have perceptions around a New Zealand sportsman generated such a spectrum of applause and derision. Opinions tend to be compartmentalised into brash maverick, cocky mercenary, generous benefactor and loyal mate.Minimal evidence supports the former two guises other than confidence on the field and tattoos of his playing number and children’s birth dates on his upper right arm and an ink band for a wedding ring. A former first-class wicketkeeper spoke of a club match where a youthful McCullum sledged from behind the stumps. When it came to McCullum’s turn to bat the senior gloveman repaid the favour by walking with him to the batting crease, taunting all the way. McCullum was hardly affected. He proceeded to propel his side to victory with a wagon wheel like a dropped packet of spaghetti. The veteran couldn’t wait to shake his hand at the end after witnessing such a commanding display.More anecdotes reflect the latter two descriptions. Some might be apocryphal but McCullum is lauded by those who know him well for donating overseas T20 income back to Otago, giving financial help to mates who have fallen on hard times, returning to absorb the camaraderie of his former club Albion when he is in town, always shouting his round and, in the odd instance, footing the bill for team gatherings, and enjoying a round of golf, a punt on the horses and a beer with his mates. They are hardly the traits of cricket’s Gordon Gekko.The 32-year-old has overseen a significant transition in the New Zealand ranks. Even before his triple-century he had gelled the operation; a scenario scarcely imaginable with the threat of implosion following Taylor’s demotion.McCullum deserves credit for balancing the needs of senior players, in particular Taylor, while convincing younger players they belong at international level. He is generally composed and communicates clearly, invaluable qualities the team has responded to under pressure, most recently at Kensington Oval when they won the Test series as West Indies came within 53 runs of stealing it.”That was the most enjoyable moment of my career, even though my own success was limited,” McCullum says after averaging 14.50 in six innings. “It encapsulated everything we want to be known for. It confirmed we’re starting to get there and the younger guys proved strong on-field leaders.”The situation has been helped by the strategy settling him at No. 5 in the Test and ODI orders sans wicketkeeping gloves, which are now contested by Watling and Luke Ronchi. McCullum will only take them back in an emergency.McCullum won’t divulge the majority of mentors from whom he has sought solace during his leadership baptism, although he admits Hesson featured strongly, a testament to their long-standing Dunedin connection.”Talk about resilience,” McCullum says of Hesson’s conduct during the captaincy controversy. “What he had to go through, especially the damaging personal attacks, was unacceptable. Lesser people would have failed. His stubbornness and vision have been key for this team. He is a back-room guy who reluctantly takes accolades when we succeed. He wants to build a system that lasts for decades, not just his tenure. For instance, the rest policy he employed last year for Ross and I came under immense fire. Yet, when we returned, we were two of the best batsmen over the Test summer. He’s a strategist with a calm demeanour who is easy to work with.”Elsewhere, when the mayhem kicked off, the first thing you do is become insular and ensure those around you genuinely have your best interests at heart. They are not just ‘yes’ men. They will tell you if they think you are being an idiot but you respect them. They know who they are.”Inside the team I relied on experienced guys. Kyle Mills was outstanding and Peter Fulton and Grant Elliott were instrumental to reaching different parts of the group, because a captain can’t be all things to all people. If the right messages are delivered by other people they can still resonate. Guys like Kane Williamson and Tim Southee have also grown immensely in the last 18 months as leaders through outstanding performances.”One of McCullum’s finest hours came when he missed the job to Taylor, despite being the more senior player. He kept a measured counsel after delivering the now infamous presidential-style candidate presentations to a panel.”There were some people in positions who weren’t as honest as they should have been. I don’t want to say I have regrets, but looking back, it’s not something I would’ve done. It wasn’t fair on anyone. I think it caused damage up until about 18 months ago. Not between Ross and I, but between people who support this team. It was divisive. Thankfully, we’re through it.”
