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Brendon McCullum needs longer stints in middle for New Zealand’s good

Brendon McCullum will have to play a key role if New Zealand are to level the series at Adelaide.

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Brendon McCullum must make sure that he does not throw his wicket away for the sake of his team © Getty Images
Brendon McCullum must make sure that he does not throw his wicket away for the sake of his team © Getty Images

When one talks about Brendon McCullum, the first words that come to mind are ‘utter destruction’. Be it One-Day International (ODI), Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) or even Tests. It is hard to erase the memory of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, where McCullum went berserk in almost every single match. For the ones who saw the Pool A match between New Zealand and England his 25-ball 77 will forever be etched in their minds. He has been an asset in the Test arena too, although expecting him to go all guns blazing in this format and score a quick fifty or hundred in every innings is a bit too much. SCORECARD: Australia vs New Zealand 2015-16, day-night Test at Adelaide

By McCullum’s high standards, he has had a quiet year in Tests. He scored a run-a-ball 80 in the first Test against Australia at Brisbane, where he seemed to have regained his lost touch. Barring that he has just one more half-century, which came against England at Leeds. But he has not been completely out of touch.

In his last innings in 2014, he scored 195 and in the innings before that he managed to get 202 —both against Pakistan. With players like Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Martin Guptill and others around, the pressure of getting runs does not entirely fall on McCullum’s shoulders. He has been batting at No. 5 of late and more importantly, bats after Williamson and Taylor, who have been among the runs in the recent times. With them scoring heavily, McCullum does not need to do anything unwanted and can afford to play in his attacking style. READ: Pink balls must not be judged solely on the proceedings of Australia vs New Zealand 2015-16 day-night Test

At present, with Corey Anderson out due to injury, the batmen to follow McCullum are not many, it is just Watling. One cannot depend on the batting abilities of Doug Bracewell at No. 7. He averages a meagre 11 in Tests. Additionally, with Jimmy Neesham too out due to injury, New Zealand seem to be lacking depth in their batting. McCullum‘s role therefore becomes all the more important. He cannot afford to throw his wicket away and perhaps look to occupy the crease for a longer period of time.

McCullum has done it in the past, however not many times. But he still has the ability to stick it out. McCullum’s triple century against India at Wellington in February 2014 is a testament of his excellent temperament. It came at a time when New Zealand were facing an possible innings defeat. He batted for close to 13 hours and eventually saved the game for his side. READ: Australia vs New Zealand 2015-16, 3rd Test at Adelaide: What to expect from 1st ever Day-Night Test

With not much batting after him, McCullum will perhaps have to spend a little more time out in the middle. He must play according to the situation and not play any expansive shots until he has gotten his eye in. McCullum scored a 28-ball 49 in the warm-up match at Perth, as a preparation for the day-night Test at Adelaide. Having not scored a single century in Tests this year, the historic Test maybe a platform where McCullum scores big. If he does, it will go a long way in squaring the series against Australia. It could also give him the much-needed confidence for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka in December.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)

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