Brendon McCullum to retire after upcoming Australia series

[Howe_zat]

You really can't bag McCullum's innings from a downhill skiing point of view, but it just seems like you should because of the way it was scored. It's kind of hard to process. In a situation like McCullum was in, the choice is between defend and get out, or attack briefly and get out. He played an innings that should by any reasonable definition have lasted less than half an hour.

That's a bit evident by the number of flukey top edges that went to the boundary, which is why there is a reason to not think of this as one of the greatest innings ever. Compare it to say AB De Villiers' record ton in that one ODI against the Windies. If you just watch the shots alone, you've got to say that De Villiers' middling it repeatedly on both sides of the wicket and straight for six outweighs McCullum's cross batted swats - Australia ended up with a long stop because so many shots were going over the keeper, and not because he was scooping it there deliberately. But in terms of literally everything else - match situation, importance of the occasion, quality of the bowling, and impact on the innings - it is one of the best innings ever played. So I can see why you'd bag it, but only if you don't really give a **** about the nature and narrative of Test match cricket.

 

[Debris]

But how many Viv's dismissals would have been 6s with today's bats and field sizes?

Excluding wicketkeeper, he was caught in 71 of his 170 dismissals. Based on that, I would guess around 5.

 

[hendrix]

It's actually quite physically demanding to swing that hard for more than a few balls, too.

 

[Flem274*]

You really can't bag McCullum's innings from a downhill skiing point of view, but it just seems like you should because of the way it was scored. It's kind of hard to process. In a situation like McCullum was in, the choice is between defend and get out, or attack briefly and get out. He played an innings that should by any reasonable definition have lasted less than half an hour.

That's a bit evident by the number of flukey top edges that went to the boundary, which is why there is a reason to not think of this as one of the greatest innings ever. Compare it to say AB De Villiers' record ton in that one ODI against the Windies. If you just watch the shots alone, you've got to say that De Villiers' middling it repeatedly on both sides of the wicket and straight for six outweighs McCullum's cross batted swats - Australia ended up with a long stop because so many shots were going over the keeper, and not because he was scooping it there deliberately. But in terms of literally everything else - match situation, importance of the occasion, quality of the bowling, and impact on the innings - it is one of the best innings ever played. So I can see why you'd bag it, but only if you don't really give a **** about the nature and narrative of Test match cricket.

yeah exactly. mccullum broke the rules of what is meant to happen according to The Book and people who can't see past its pages can't handle this knock

 

[Shady Slim]

Excluding wicketkeeper, he was caught in 71 of his 170 dismissals. Based on that, I would guess around 5.

now tell me if this is a ridiculous point

but what about all the edges that just didn't carry or the chips that just fell short of the fielder that would have carried with big bat oomph

 

[honestbharani]

yeah exactly. mccullum broke the rules of what is meant to happen according to The Book and people who can't see past its pages can't handle this knock

Yeah, well, Astle did it better in his knock..




Yeah, that was a bait..

 

[Jono]

its a retirement thread hb

 

[Daemon]

poor mccullum never gets any credit

 

[Howe_zat]

Tagging #history is also a bit... why

 

[honestbharani]

its a retirement thread hb

yeah.., my bad.. was juz being silly. Loved Baz's cricket... plus he is an ex CSK player. Can't hate him.

 

[jcas0167]

Some nice comments from Atherton.

"In the modern game, think of Clive Lloyd, uniting the Caribbean; think of Imran Khan, too, ridding Pakistan of an inferiority complex and tearing them away from the stupefying cricket of the 1960s and early 1970s.

"And think of McCullum: the man who, for a short while, challenged rugby's pre-eminence and gave New Zealand an entertaining bite."

Looking back at New Zealand's tour of England last year, Atherton said; "Alastair Cook looked across at McCullum and saw something that he envied: a dynamic professional in cavalier's costume. Since then, he and England have been noticeably more relaxed."

Ex-England captains Mike Atherton and Michael Vaughan pay tribute to Brendon McCullum | Stuff.co.nz

 

[Zinzan]

poor mccullum never gets any credit

Lol this Mcnerney kid should just soak up the accolades & quit denying it.

 

[Zinzan]

The tribute that will probably mean the most to BMac as the cricket historian that he is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn6-IBkZjxE

 

[The Hutt Rec]

I remember seeing him in the Meridian Shopping Centre in Dunedin a few months after his dropped catch off Bond vs India at the 2003 World Cup. I gave him some extreme evils. Pretty sure he didn't see me.

He's come a long way. His 2014 test batting will always be the highlight for me, such an amazing 12 months, and something I never thought he was capable of.

 

[SteveNZ]

Brendon McCullum and Jonah Lomu is probably a pretty close comparison in terms of their impact on their respective sports in their country (maybe worldwide at a stretch, although fair to say Jonah may have been a bit bigger). Both get entered into 'best ever for NZ' discussions even though they're not worthy of it. But for bums on seats, how good they were at their best, inspiring youngsters/generations, highlight reel etc, they're right at the top.

 

[Furball]

Brendon McCullum and Jonah Lomu is probably a pretty close comparison in terms of their impact on their respective sports in their country (maybe worldwide at a stretch, although fair to say Jonah may have been a bit bigger). Both get entered into 'best ever for NZ' discussions even though they're not worthy of it. But for bums on seats, how good they were at their best, inspiring youngsters/generations, highlight reel etc, they're right at the top.

You're having a laugh if you think McCullum is anywhere near Lomu internationally.

 

[NZTailender]

You're having a laugh if you think McCullum is anywhere near Lomu internationally.

If you read his post closely, you'll see he's not really saying that. However friends of mine went on holiday to America and later have gone to live and work in Canada and multiple times they've had Yanks and Canucks go "oh you're from New Zealand! How about that Brendon McCullum?" I kid you not. He's not on the same level as Lomu but he has some international recognition outside the top 8.

 

[Jord]

Cricket is a much bigger global sport than Rugby. I'd dare say there are far more people on the planet who know of and think highly of McCullum than Lomu. A billion Indians for instance?

 

[kiwiviktor81]

I'd say McCullum was an order of magnitude better known than Lomu, assuming all people are of equal worth. Maybe even 20 times better known.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

Probably more people know who Matt Henry is than either Dan Carter or Richie McCaw.