Brendon Mccullum
A Brief History of Brendon Mccullum
Brendon Mccullum is one of the greatest wicket keeper-batsman in the history of the game. He started his career in cricket in his homeland, New Zealand . He was selected in the national side for his batting skills, however, within some time, he proved himself to be an excellent wicketkeeper too. Brendon Mccullum has proven his worth by piling up runs quickly and proving himself every time he has stepped onto the field.
He was born on 27 September 1981 in Dunedin, Otago. His career has seen him playing for many teams over the years, but it never stopped him from showing his talent. The teams he has played for include New Zealand, Kolkata Knight Riders , Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions, Marylebone Cricket Club, Joburg Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Toronto Nationals, and many more.
With his batting skills making a mark worldwide, he was one of the first to be picked up at the Indian Premier League auction by Kolkata Knight Riders for an approximate sum of $700,000. In his career, the moment that defined his abilities has to be his unbeaten score of 158 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 1st match of the inaugural IPL in 2008. He became the first man to score a thousand runs in T20 internationals and the first cricketer to score two T20I centuries. He is one of the most successful wicket keepers to date. He has 462 caught behinds to his name across all formats. One of his best performances was in 2010 against Australia, when he powered his way to an unbeaten 116 and led his team to an incredible win. It's clear that cricket runs in his blood as his father, Stuart Mucullum, played domestic cricket for Otago.
Brendon announced his retirement in February 2016 in the Christchurch Test against Australian team , at the age of 35. He uses the word 'brash' to define himself and was one of the modern era’s fittest cricketers. He is indeed an inspiration to the entire nation as he struck a delicate balance between playing maturely and going after the bowlers.
If we take a look at Brendon McCullum’s IPL history, we see that from 2008 to 2013, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders, except in 2011, when he played for the Kochi Tuskers, Kerala. In seasons 2014 and 2015, Mccullum was seen playing for Chennai Super Kings . In the seasons of 2016 and 2017, he was a part of the Gujarat Lions Team. In the IPL Auction of 2018, Mccullum was bought for a huge amount of Rs. 3.6 crores by the Royal Challengers Bangalore Team .
McCullum gave up his love for wicket-keeping in Tests to focus on batting. However, he was always sharp in the outfield and had pretty safe hands. After a fall-out within the team management, he was handed over the Captain’s post, hence taking over from Ross Taylor. McCullum faced some back issues that were chronic and resurfaced from time to time.
Personal Life of Brendon McCullum:
Brendon McCullum’s age did not play a significant role in slowing him down. He played some great knocks when he was well past 30. He has been married to Ellissa McCullum since 2003 and has three children, one son Riley and two daughters. His hobbies include horse riding, playing golf, and rugby. Many people don't know that his full name is Brendon Barrie McCullum, but is fondly called Baz by friends and family. His brother, Nathan Mccullum is also an international cricketer. Brendon is also an occasional columnist in The Daily Mail, an English News Outlet.
He announced his autobiography in 2016, called "Declared". The author of the book is Greg McGee. In his book, he talks about growing up being a sports lover, and his story of getting better day by day in his career. Being one of the most admired cricketers, he is also called "Explosive wicketkeeper" and has been a real gem of International Cricket. Knowing how important a family is, Ellissa Mccullum, Brendon McCullum’s wife, has been a constant support in Brendon’s life.
| Height (Approx) | 5’7 |
| Weight (Approx) | 70kg |
| Marital Status | Married to Ellissa Mccullum |
| Eye Color | Blue |
Brendon McCullum Stats:
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Best Score | Average | Strike Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 101 | 176 | 6453 | 302 | 38.64 | 64.6 |
| ODI | 260 | 228 | 6083 | 166 | 30.41 | 96.37 |
| T20 | 71 | 70 | 2140 | 123 | 35.67 | 136.22 |
| IPL | 109 | 109 | 2880 | 158 | 27.69 | 131.75 |
Career Information:
| Test Debut | New Zealand v South Africa at Hamilton, Mar 10-14, 2004 |
| Last Test | New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch, Feb 20-24, 2016 |
| ODI Debut | Australia v New Zealand at Sydney, Jan 17, 2002 |
| Last ODI | New Zealand v Australia at Hamilton, Feb 8, 2016 |
| T20 Debut | New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, Feb 17, 2005 |
| Last T20 | England v New Zealand at Manchester, Jun 23, 2015 |
Achievements of Brendon Mccullum:
- Mccullum became the captain of New Zealand in December 2010.
- In 2014 he reached heights as a batsman as he became the first New Zealand-based cricketer to score a triple century against Indian Cricket team . In 2014 he was named ‘New Zealand Cricketer of the year’.
- In the 2015 cricket World Cup, Mccullum scored 77 runs in 25 balls, hence recording the fastest fifty in World Cup history.
- Being one of the most dedicated cricket players, Mccullum was the first player to make 100 consecutive test appearances since his debut.
- In 2001, he smashed 186 runs against South Africa under 19.
- Mccullum scored 339 runs in partnership with Martin Guptill and thereby set the highest 6th wicket partnership record.
- In 2012 Mccullum set a record for the highest T20 International Innings with 123 runs against Bangladesh .
- Mccullum won the New Zealand leadership award in 2016.
- He also became the first New Zealander to score 1000 test runs in a calendar year by scoring 1164 runs in the year 2014.
- He is a cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. There is no doubt that he has shown his skills in every aspect, and truly deserves all the appreciation he gets.
It is believed that the 2015 ICC World Cup was the turning point in his ODI Career. He thoroughly used the fact that the mega event was staged in favorable home conditions to his advantage, leading New Zealand to their first-ever World Cup Final.