Cricket: McCullum makes his mark with gloves, and bat

6.00pm - By MARTYN WATTERSON in Bangladesh

Most foreigners to the subcontinent spend a fair bit of time squatting close to the ground after a brush with the local water or some unaccustomed chicken dish.

Brendon McCullum does it by choice, and so far he's done it pretty well in Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper who has already played 51 one-day cricket internationals is verging on a test career which could see another mortgage put on that crucial spot behind the stumps, and his latest performances only enhanced the prospect.

Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming singled out the 23-year-old in a series littered with headline grabbing performances after Bangladesh lost the second test by an innings and 101 runs on Friday.

"Brendon McCullum's wicketkeeping was outstanding as well as his century in the first test. His wicketkeeping in tough conditions on tough wickets up to the stumps was as good as it gets."

McCullum, who had played just six tests before the two-test series in Bangladesh, showed on wickets providing vicious turn for the spinners that he was supple and possessed a cool pair of hands when the temperature regularly tipped 33degC.

He acknowledged the test-series was his best effort with the gloves in his fledging three-year international career.

"I said before hand that I knew it was going to be tough here and I wanted to step up and show my worth," McCullum told NZPA.

"Fortunately I performed in the conditions and the bowlers did well so they gave me the opportunity to do so.

"I was ecstatic to come through the test matches the way I did.

"In my brief eight test matches it's definitely been my best keeping episode that I've had, and having to spend three-quarters of the time up to the stumps each day is pretty taxing on the body."

New Zealand cricket has been blessed with stable custodians in Warren Lees and Ian Smith, and after Adam Parore retired in 2003, Robbie Hart briefly took the reins before stepping aside for McCullum.

While he progressed to the one-day spot on Parore's retirement after seeing off Chris Nevin, McCullum had to wait longer for the test position as the selectors opted for the ever-steady Hart as McCullum was groomed in the five-day game.

Eight months after his first test match, McCullum is still spinning at his rapid rise.

"It's been a fantastic evolution, I guess. It's always been an ambition of mine to play test cricket and I knew I wanted to start my test career well, and going through hard times with the start of my one-day career made it even sweeter.

"It was pretty important for me to make sure I hit the ground running with test cricket and so far to average 46 down the order and with my keeping going well, I know it's going to carry my confidence over into the one-dayers."

After his ODI debut in the 2001/02 VB Series against Australia and South Africa, he played the home one-day series against England, but dropped out the side for the next eight months after a run drought.

He credits that period as being crucial to his development "because I know what it's like being on the outside of the team looking in and it's certainly more fun being in the team."

His established one-day credentials will get another airing when the first of three ODI's starts here on Tuesday.

Besides the glovework, McCullum's big break came in the first test in Dhaka where he cracked his maiden test century, finishing with 143 as the tourists won by an innings and 99 runs.

Batting should not be a burden for McCullum, who at 20, opened in the VB Series.

Dunedin-born McCullum was ever present in the Otago age-group sides and also captained the New Zealand under-19 team before breaking into first class cricket for Otago.

His father Stuart played 75 first class games for Otago, while brother Nathan has also represented the province.

In the test arena McCullum made 57 in his first international against South Africa in March, then fell four runs short of posting his first hundred at Lord's two months later.

After reaching three figures in Dhaka, he provided a glimpse of his competitive nature and swagger when he said there were a few records he wanted to break during that innings.

One of them involved a former Otago stalwart and early mentor.

"When I got picked in the test team there were a few critics who didn't believe my time was right.

"Warren Lees came out in the paper and said I didn't deserve to be picked, which I have no qualms about.

"I respect people's opinions and that's great. I have been around Warren most of my life but I was a little bit disappointed that he hadn't got in touch before hand to let me know.

"It would have been nice to go past his 152 and it was definitely on my mind very early in the game."

McCullum's knock was the third highest test score by a wicketkeeper after Lees' effort and Ian Smith's 173 in Auckland against India in 1989, but it's just a matter of time before those records are replaced with a newer version.

Eight test matches don't make a career but an average of 46.09, which includes outings against South Africa and England, reinforces the early promise McCullum had always shown.

In a twist of fate, a knee injury that threatened to curtail his wicketkeeping led to extra work on his batting.

Six months before his one-day debut, he was told his left knee had dead bone from the constant crouching of keeping and something had to be done.

He had two options -- surgery with no guarantee of success, or a change in method and more gym work to strengthen the muscle. McCullum chose the latter.

"It was quite a hard pill to swallow not knowing if was going to be able to wicketkeep with that being the one thing I had done throughout my career, so I spent 12 months working hard on my batting to make sure I nailed that aspect."

With a changed stance and tweaked technique, the knee gives him no further problems especially with his trade mark sprinting between the wickets which often leaves his batting partners gasping for air.

McCullum's rapid rise in the test ranks has also ushered in a new approach to his game.

"I've tended to go 120 miles an hour because I thought that was the best approach and always thought boundaries first then three, two, one or whatever.

"Now if someone bowls me another loose one, great. If he doesn't just respect it and look for a quick single or just play accordingly. I'm trying to find a balance. And once I do that I'll be able to score more hundreds."

The confidence he exudes on the pitch is also dished out in doses off it. As 12th man during the VB Series he spotted a woman who was working at the venue and decided to follow it up.

He eventually married Ellissa and the couple have a four month-old son Riley, and McCullum feels his family have provided him with a vital balance away from cricket.

His wife was born in Lismore, northern New South Wales, where Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist comes from.

"Wicketkeepers conduct the whole arena out there. If something was going wrong in the field you look at them and their body language might not be so good but all of a sudden they do something and it would lift the side."

McCullum also admits he's had to rein in his emotions, which are known to explode on occasions -- his shirtless haka with Chris Cairns in a Johannesburg pub during the World Cup which nearly caused a riot being one such incident.

"I've always been quite an emotional person and that's something I've had to curb for the good of the side.

"In tough situations I have to try to control myself and not get carried away. I've always looked on other keepers by how they conduct themselves on the field and how they run the ship.

"You've got your captain and then the keeper who determines how clean a fielding display there is."

- NZPA