On This Day, September 27: The former Kiwi skipper and current English head coach, Brendon McCullum was born today. He is famous for an explosive display in T20 cricket, which also featured in the first IPL game he played as he scored 158 off just 73 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium. His underage career was stellar, demonstrating the brilliance of dominating bowling attacks with his wicket-keeping skill and batting prowess.
McCullum Throughout The Years
Though he aced as a power-packed opener in ODIs and T20s, his Test record wasn’t impressive at first. One of the biggest choices he had to make about his career was when, after having been wicket-keeper in Test cricket up to 2010, he opted to relinquish that position and to focus solely on his role as a specialist opener.
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His labor of love was rewarded in 2014 when he scored two outstanding double-centuries, including a New Zealand record of 302 against India and a scintillating 195 against Sri Lanka.
2015 ODI World Cup: Pinnacle For McCullum
Under McCullum’s leadership, New Zealand became an overall force in all the three formats, with success finalizing as the team first reached for the World Cup in 2015, where they lost against Australia at the MCG. It was the last year that McCullum played under national colors when, in Christchurch, he scored Test century against Australia.
New Role As Head Coach
McCullum was appointed as ‘Head Coach’ of the England side and since his inception, the English side is completely playing different form of Test Cricket, which is fondly called as “BazBall Cricket” in which a side plays an aggressive brand of cricket in the longest form of the game.
England also have confirmed that Brendon McCullum will take over as the white-ball head coach of the men’s team starting January 2025, ahead of the India tour and ICC Champions Trophy.
McCullum’s Stats
| Format | Matches Played | Runs Scored | Highest Score |
| Tests | 101 | 6453 | 302 |
| ODIs | 260 | 6083 | 166 |
| T20Is | 71 | 2140 | 123 |
