New Zealand cricket has seen some amazing players throughout the years, but none can beat the likes of Brendon McCullum. The former Kiwi skipper is regarded as one of the best wicketkeeper batters known for his destructive style of batting and athleticism behind the stumps. McCullum has been a stalwart for the Kiwis throughout his 14-year career and we have all celebrated some of his best innings in international cricket.
McCullum has a decent record in all formats but it is his performance in white-ball cricket that has made him a force to reckon with. There have been some iconic innings in this format by McCullum that we will be looking into. McCullum has over 6000 runs in ODI’s and 2000+ runs in T20I’s and has had a great career in these shorter formats which we will be talking about.
So, here are the top 3 best performances from Brendon McCullum in white ball cricket:
3. 123(58) vs Bangladesh in 2012 (T20I)
This was where we saw Brendon McCullum play one of his destructive knocks in T20I and it was a joy to watch for everyone. After losing Martin Guptill early into the match, McCullum took apart the Bangladeshi bowling attack and scored 123 runs in just 58 deliveries. This was enough to take the Kiwi’s score to 191 and ensure a win over the Tigers. McCullum’s innings consisted of 11 fours and 7 sixes and this was a glimpse of how destructive he can be with the bat.
2. 131(129) vs Pakistan in 2009 (ODI)
This was one of the early days of Brendon McCullum and this time he was against one of the strongest pace attacks in international cricket. However, McCullum was at his absolute best and scored a phenomenal hundred to get his side to a 300+ total while opening the innings. McCullum scored 14 fours and 3 sixes in this innings and also won the Player of the Match for this amazing innings.
1. 166(135) vs Ireland in 2008 (ODI)
This was still a young and dangerous Brendon McCullum and he made the most of it in this innings. Brendon McCullum and James Marshall formed a brilliant partnership together of 274 runs. McCullum himself played another swashbuckling innings of 166 from just 135 deliveries and played a huge role in making sure the Kiwis reached one of their highest totals in One Day Internationals.
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