It is only fitting that one of the cricketers who epitomised the urgency of the modern game should go out with his guns blazing.
It is only fitting that one of the cricketers who epitomised the urgency of the modern game should go out with his guns blazing. Only a select few have mastered the triple challenge of today’s cricket like Brendon McCullum and they can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. The New Zealand skipper was right up there with the likes of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli as batsmen who redefined the game in its most modern era, combining their gifts of eyesight, reflexes and strokeplay with a brave new approach that was patently fearless.
A number of batsmen may have ushered in the immediacy of today’s blasting batsmanship, but none quite brought out the raw power of a big, modern bat as thrillingly as McCullum. Kohli could be classical even in gathering his limited-overs runs at an extraordinary pace and de Villiers amazingly inventive. The primordial business of hitting the cricket ball as if it was possible to separate the leather cover from the cork innards was best attended to by the tattooed power of his hands and arms and wrist. When B-Mac hit the ball, it stayed hit.
Viv Richards dismissed the ball from his presence as if the ball were a fly and he was swatting it. He once told a bowler- “it is red and it is round” and asked him to “go and fetch it” after hitting him out of the park. McCullum bludgeons it as if he were a swarthy blacksmith hammering a piece of metal in the forge. Sachin Tendulkar woke us up to the possibility of what could be achieved by playing the finest cricketing shots to the new white ball in limited-overs cricket when the big open spaces seem to invite a batsman of pedigree to simply time the ball. That was a great lesson in the changing dynamics of the game.
Sanath Jayasuriya probably defined the art of going after the new ball in the World Cup of 1996. Cricket has come a long way since the likes of Krish Srikkanth and before him Colin Mliburn tried to change all the rules by playing shots regardless of the risks of losing your wicket. Virender Sehwag demonstrated it is possible to keep on driving the ball with sustained brilliance. When in the mood, the format mattered not to the most cavalier of the ultra moderns. It can be said that McCullum took on Sehwag’s mantle and carried it a little further with the awesome power he could generate.
The Christchurch crowd was not short of sentiment on the day McCullum left the batting crease for the last time, not as successful as in the blazing first innings, which was a masterclass as it was played on a seaming pitch on which his side were in early trouble and three wickets down in 20 overs which fetched hardly a run an over. In such conditions did the Kiwi skipper play an innings which will be long remembered even if someone does better that strike rate of 100 off 54 balls some day in the Test arena. The sheer circumstances of a farewell Test rarely allow such a great performance. He deserves every plaudit for being able to focus so singularly on the business at hand.
McCullum’s contribution to the game goes even beyond what he did at the crease. His positive vibes and attitude of playing to win at any cost while brushing away the fear of defeat that seems to grip too many of the moderns who face it almost every other day in the crowded calendars of today was phenomenal. He went even further in lending grace to the times he played in by ignoring this great affectation of the game known as sledging, which originated from just across the Tasman in the southern hemisphere. He won more friends in the World Cup than even the winning team led by Michael Clarke because he played the game in the finest spirit of cricket.
Suffice it to say, McCullum left the game in far better shape. He even squealed on the dark goings on in pointing a finger at a colleague because it had to be done. He did what was morally right and he was prepared to stand up for the highest principles. If some of the spark is taken out of cricket in his absence we can blame it on his wishing to be away from the spotlight now, perhaps to show some of his bravery on the turf where his horses are said to be doing as well as the master blaster of the modern game.
