English roast: How Brendon McCullum missed AB de Villiers’ record

Wellington: When Steven Finn – the hat-trick tragic hero of England’s disastrous opener against Australia – started his spell on Friday, he knew the battle was over. But he probably never imagined that defending 123 could turn into a nightmare. Courtesy, Brendon McCullum.

The New Zealand captain seemed possessed as he smashed a 25-ball 77 (4X8, 6X7) - the fastest half-century in a World Cup match.

McCullum’s intentions were clear from the onset. The right-handed batsman – who reached his half-century in 18 balls – made the gentleman’s sport look like book cricket.

Now the debate is whether he could cross AB de Villiers’ 31-ball 100 record. Well, he could, England needed to score 10-15 runs more.

The 33-year-old knew his job was to finish things off. After all, nobody creates or touches a record in a low-scorer but the way he went about his innings - hitting all around the park - things could have been different.

McCullum got out when the scoreboard read 105 in 7.2 overs. New Zealand needed 19 more to seal the deal. Suppose he scored all these runs himself he would have finished on 96, or maybe a six from 95 could have helped – a hypothetical situation.

But if England had scored a 130-up, he surely would have gone for the kill. But yes, the batsman had five balls in hand to break AB's record. Going by his form, it wouldn't have taken him long for he hit four consecutive sixes off Finn.

However, Finn can never celebrate the first week of his outing Down Under leave alone memories of the hat-trick that also gifted him a fifer. McCullum single-handedly destroyed his economy rate – 2-0-49-0-24.50.