It is the 28th over of the day, Mitchell Marsh’s
second after the lunch. In his previous over he had produced a gem of an outswinger
to snare the indissoluble Kane Williamson. Off the 2nd ball,
McCullum cuts hard to point to bring the new man, Corey Anderson on strike. The
first couple of balls wiz past Anderson’s bat. He is not beaten but you sense the
nerves.
As he adjusts his gloves, McCullum wanders down the pitch
from the non-strikers end pretends to do some gardening, chews on his gum,
makes eye contact with Anderson and then simply nods his head.
Next ball Anderson is not too dissimilar, just the line is
on off-stump but Anderson flexes his muscles, closes his eyes at impact and
pulls it over square leg for six. Slow
motion replays show the ball hitting the top edge, slow motion replays also
show the indent in Anderson gloves as he gives McCullum some glove love and
they also show the rise smile from Anderson.
It is obligatory smile to his skipper.
It sums up the day and the dynasty of McCullum. When he
speaks the team listens. It is by no means forced but since taking over the
captaincy McCullum has created that respect. Win at any cost is the mantra and
do it in a manner that suits the team.
When McCullum took over the captaincy role, he realised
wearing down the bowlers and trying to take the Tests deep into 5th
day was not their strength. Stroke makers such as himself, Guptill, Anderson
and even Ross Taylor at times played at their best with the philosophy of ‘live
and die by the sword’.
If anyone was to be surprised at New Zealand’s tactics then
it was worth listening to McCullum comments at the toss again. He is man
faithful to his team and his words.
“You will see some positive batting on this type of wicket”
he told Simon Doull. First couple of
hours it might have seemed like a lie but then again McCullum knows which
players can attack and which players can defend. The way Anderson attacks showcased his true leadership
and his man management skills. There was luck but this was the only way
McCullum felt his teams could survive.
He had learnt it hard way. Either from last week in
Wellington or his first Test as skipper when New Zealand were bowled out for 43
after electing to bat first against South Africa. It was embarrassing but the way McCullum conveyed
the message to his team after that Test spoke volumes about the art of his
captaincy.
He never disused the Test or the techniques, instead he
spoke about the All Blacks. Told the men
about the respect and the pride they had created for a country of boasting a
population of only four million. Told his team mates that he wanted the Black
Caps to command similar respect from his countrymen. Told them about being
noticed on the world sporting scene just like the All Blacks. Importantly, told
them to do get to that level with enjoyment and respect. Six of those players
that heard those words from McCullum ran out with him in his final Test. The
others had been relayed that message either my McCullum, coach Mike Hesson or
team manager, Mark Sandle.
Enjoyment and Respect are two words that would define New Zealand
cricket. Last year when Ben Stokes and Alistair Cook took the 1st
Test away from New Zealand at Lords, McCullum looked at his team mates and
reminded them that they were playing a Test at Lords, it was every boy’s
childhood dream and it was paramount to enjoy it. New Zealand might have lost the test but the
simplicity in the message ensured the positive mindset and it lead to New
Zealand winning the second Test.
The second word ‘respect’ was not only on the field but off
it. Recently a member of support staff had stood by the door and blocked one of
the bowlers passage as he tried to run out to start his bowling drills in
between innings. The bowlers in a polite way had just gently tapped the support
staff and said ‘out of the way mate’ with a smile on his face. In McCullum eyes this was not respecting your
team mates, so he stopped the player and reminded him of the two fundamentals
of his captaincy. “Sorry Mate, had to
run to do the warm ups’ was the quick reply from the bowler to the support
staff.
It was a further indication of when McCullum spoke the team
listened. Today McCullum simply nodded at Anderson and the rest was history.
