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Brendon McCullum has had a stellar year in Test cricket and the hard hitting BLACKCAP batsman is hungry for more of the same.
More than 750 runs in six tests at an average of 75.8 placed him among the 10 leading batsmen in world cricket last year and told a story of a man who had, at 29, started to consistently live up to his obvious talent.
He has dedicated himself to becoming an opening batsman, the result of which was a top tour of India and a career best score of 225 at Hyderabad, one of three hundreds the Otago batsman scored in the purist form of the game last year.
As the first test of 2011 looms, against Pakistan here starting on Friday, McCullum is at peace with his test game, determined to not only maintain the momentum he created last year but build on it. His year has certainly started with a bang, scoring 206 in the New Zealand 11's drawn three-day match against Pakistan at Whangarei, which concluded yesterday.
It means continuing to work on the mental side of his game more than anything else, marrying his attacking instincts with defence when required to enable himself to bat long periods of time and wear down opposing bowlers. After all, that is the primary role of an opening batsman.
"Something that I'm lucky to possess is the ability to put bowlers under pressure at times, so I've still got to be true to myself in terms of my counterattacking skills, it's about making sure I balance that out with good defence," McCullum said today after the New Zealand team's first net session in stifling hot Hamilton.
"If you can ebb and flow that tempo throughout your innings it gives you the best chance of going big. I guess I did that once over in India and recently in the Pakistan game, too, so hopefully I'm starting to learn that.
"Mentally I have had to make an adjustment but I'm starting to learn that and hopefully that's an encouraging sign for what is coming up."
Making mental adjustments appear to be the biggest change in McCullum's game but there has been no magic formula. Had there been, his one-day form -- he averaged just 21.60 from 15 matches -- would not have disappointed him so much.
"I think I'm really owning my own game now. At the age of 29, this is my one shot at it, the previous years have been great buildup and great experience and now it's a matter of making sure I take my game to the next level. If I can do that then I'm sure our team will benefit from it."
NZPA
