| Player: | BB McCullum |
DateLine: 7th May 2009
Brendon McCullum made his mark in England in 2004, with 200 runs in the Test series, including an entertaining 96 at Lord's. After that near-miss he finally brought up his maiden century in Bangladesh in October, with 143 at Dhaka. He added another hundred in the two-day victory over Zimbabwe in August 2005. McCullum first made the New Zealand one-day side as a batsman, in the 2001-02 VB Series in Australia. Two years later McCullum, by now keeping wicket, forced his way into the Test side for the 2003-04 series against South Africa. In February 2008, McCullum was bought for $700,000, the biggest winner from New Zealand, by the Indian Premier League's Kolkata franchise and launched the tournament with an unbeaten 158, the highest total in Twenty20 cricket. McCullum arrived in England after the IPL hype and scored two fifties in the three Tests before contributing handily in New Zealand's 3-1 ODI win afterwards.
