Bowing out in style

Brendon McCullum will retire at the end of the Test match now in progress in Christchurch. It sounds amazing that a batsman who just cracked the Test batting record for the fastest century — off 54 balls, bettering the 56-ball record of Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq — is calling it quits even before a ball is bowled in the coming T20 World Cup in India starting next month.

The New Zealand skipper said before the match he was happy bowing out in the purest form of the game, reflecting the universal opinion among players and others that Tests are still the supreme form of cricket even in an era where T20 cricket have caught the public imagination.

The racehorse-owning Kiwi has been a trendsetter in the modern era, raising the bar in aggressive batsmanship, including in Tests where McCullum showed incremental progress in cracking quick centuries and demonstrating his striking prowess in hitting the most sixes in the traditional format. Beyond his aggression in batting, the Kiwi has been an icon of the modern game, giving new meaning to positive cricket in all senses.

Beyond that, McCullum has been an epitome of sportsmanship even at a time when fielders aggravate the batsmen in the middle with needling comments. He carried New Zealand to the final of the 2015 World Cup with one of the finest performances as captain and batsman. The maker of IPL’s first hundred bows out, setting the bar very high in a Test match while redefining the sport with his attitude and demeanour.