Famous cricket players of New Zealand: Nathan McCullum

Born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1980, Nathan McCullum made his ODI debut at relatively older age. He is bits and pieces sort of a player and has been filling in the shoes in the absence of Jacob Oram as an all rounder in New Zealand cricket team.

Having always been under the shadow of his more famous brother, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum is slowly carving his way into the kiwi ODI side and trying to establish an identity of his own. Playing his first match against Sri Lanka in 2009, in a young career thus far, he has played a total of 17 ODI matches where he has scored 270 runs and taken 11 wickets. He is an exceptional fielder, like most of the kiwis are, and is the preferred at the ‘Point’ position which belongs to only the very best in the business. Historically, brilliant fielders like Jonty Rhodes, Nasser Hussain and Ricky Ponting use to patrol the ‘point’ area and has since then become the most favored position for any top notch fielder.

Prior to cricket, Nathan McCullum played football at the national level and has also been the recipient of the ‘golden boot award’ in 1999. Not until 2004 did he realize the extreme passion that he felt for the game of cricket and hence to pursue it professionally he gave up football completely.

With faith being shown in him by the selectors and given the green signal to board the plane for the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the sub continent, Nathan McCullum can turn out to be a surprise since the pitches in the sub continent suit his explosive style of batting and are more prone to turning than the wickets back home in New Zealand.

 

Famous cricket player of New Zealand- Brendon McCullum

A flamboyant right hander, known for his explosive hard hitting and ground strokes, Brendon McCullum was born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1981. He is an aggressive batsman who also keeps wickets for the Kiwis in the ODI format and is an integral part of the New Zealand cricket team squad.

Having made his ODI debut against Australian cricket team back in 2002, ‘Baz’ as he is nicknamed, Brendon McCullum, has never justified his true batting potential primarily because of his extremely aggressive approach to the game. He likes to score his runs at a brisk pace and often in the process gives away his wicket for cheap. Having represented his side in 184 ODIs, has scored 3781 runs with 2 centuries and 18 fifties. McCullum’s most memorable inning was a 166 he scored against the Irish in 2008.

One of the highlights of his world cup would have to be the smashing 50 that he scored off 20 balls against the Canadians in St. Lucia in ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. This to date stands as a world cup record and Brendon McCullum seems all set to break this record this time around in the Subcontinent.

Although, other teams may not consider him a big threat, but one thing is for sure, Brendon McCullum is an explosive entity in the cricketing world and on his day, he can rip apart any bowling attack. If the kiwis are to perform well ,McCullum most definitely has to play out of his skin to help them win their first ever trophy in the event of 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Top ten fielders of New Zealand in T-20

In the Twenty-Twenty format, New Zealand is the same as in One Day Internationals. Their fielding is excellent, their strong point and they are very active on the field.

New Zealand has a couple of all-rounders who prove to be very helpful on the field. They know how to deal with tough situations and can bring the match on track when their performance is going on and when the other players are panicking.

In the last Twenty-Twenty match, they added players who were still recovering, as they had been injured previously. New Zealand was smart enough to put some players on hold as well, in case the present team members would not be fully fit to play the World Cup. Top ten fielders of New Zealand in T20 are:

1. LRPL Taylor
2. JDP Oram
3. BB McCullum
4. NL McCullum
5. MJ Guptill
6. DL Vettori
7. SB Styris
8. TG Southee
9. JEC Franklin
10. JD Ryder

A thrilling win for New Zealand by one run

New Zealand defeats Pakistan by one run

World 20Twenty 2010 is getting more and more electrifying with every passing day. One of the most earth-shaking match took place between Kiwis and Pakistan in Super Eight round. Pakistan won the toss and surprisingly chose to field as Pakistan does not usually chase the target. But their decision turned out miraculously in their favor and Pakistani bowlers struck hard on the Kiwis batting line.
Kiwis’ batsmen actually struggled against the Pakistani bowlers Sami and Abdul Rehman. Both these bowlers took control on the runs. Along with this, they were able to destroy the top order batting line up of Kiwis. One of the crucial wickets was of McCullum who was unable to score any significant innings and collapsed at 33 runs. After him, Vettori helped the Kiwis from shattering and scored a very good innings of 38 runs, which helped New Zealand to set a target of 133 runs. Sami and Abdul Rehman secured two wickets each. The Pakistani, after a poor performance in previous matches,  made an excellent come back where their fielding improved and bowling attack seemed on track as well.
When Pakistan was put to bat, the openers Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal took a long time to design their play in playing shots. Salman was in a very good shape but unfortunately he could not get a partnership for chasing the target and top batting order collapsed completely. Just then Abdul Razzaq joined in with Salman and both players played some beautiful shots. But after the dismissal of Razzaq, things went slow for Pakistan. In the last over by Kiwis, game went on to 2 runs to win from 1 ball, and as Abdul Rehman played a shot which people expected might give Pakistan a win, he was caught by Guptill.  The catch left Pakistani team in shock while Kiwis celebrated. Salman was not out at the score of 68 of 54 balls.
Both teams battled with their full potential but fate is something that can’t be changed. Applause for both teams!

South Africa to victory: Thanks to Steyn and Morkel!

South Africa defeats New Zealand in Super Eights 2010

The second Super Eight match spoke much about the potential of South African team as they claimed a comprehensive and all rounder win over the New Zealand team. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat. As South Africa lost to India first, there were few uncertainties that they might struggle against Kiwis, but things turned in their favor as de Villiers and Morkel added up 87 runs partnership by setting a target of 170 runs for South African team. In Twenty20 format, this total was a good one to defend.
When Kiwis were put to bat, their batting line up seemed very shaky and was unable to produce good runs. Major problem happened when Kiwis lost the big bang hitter McCullum just on 6 runs. After him, Ryder tried to build up the momentum of the game but after his dismissal, none of the batsmen gave a stand and South African bowlers took over the Kiwis all over.
This was the second match of Super Eights. More action packed thrill is on its way in the coming days. So stay tuned and predict the next champions!

Next Page »