Perhaps those of us who were zealous proponents of Brendon McCullum opening in all forms of cricket were victims of our own greed.
As witnessed since England's arrival, he can blast bowling attacks to smithereens down the order to close out innings. His 86 off 91 balls to chase 347 to beat Australia in a Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match at Hamilton in 2007, or 50 off 25 balls to haul in 332 at Christchurch in 2005 were the original blueprints.
It was natural to want to see McCullum replicate those skills at the top of the order to produce spectacular cricket in all forms.
It was asking too much; he's no Virender Sehwag.
We were lulled into a false sense of righteousness by that darned 158 not out McCullum scored off 73 balls opening for Kolkata against Bangalore in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League in 2008. McCullum conjures up his best when confronted by a challenge. He appears to enjoy it when the overs are trickling away and he is forced to produce. Give him 10-20 overs in ODIs or T20s to chase or build a total and he revels under the pressure.