Adam Parore: McCullum will go far with top pair of hands

The unsung hero of New Zealand's Champion Trophy campaign so far has been hugely improving wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.

Having spent a bit of time folded up like a paper-clip, I can appreciate how hard the conditions in India have been for him and have deep admiration for the no-frills, function-first efficiency he has brought to the job.

The most notable development is that his accuracy has improved and he doesn't make many mistakes. He's probably the best gloveman in the world right now in terms of error rate and I can see him opening up the gap on the others as the years roll on.

McCullum used to make the occasional inexplicable error - missing Rahul Dravid in the last World Cup springs to mind - but that was just a sign of his inexperience.

Young guys do that. They grow out of it as they play more games and get used to the concentration levels required.

We're just starting to see the benefits of McCullum's apprenticeship; there's some real consistency in his game.

It's still the start of his international season, but if he continues to play at this level for another year to 18 months, he'll be recognised as the best in the world.

The key to his improvement is consistency. Playing well for six weeks or six months doesn't cut it at the highest level. You have to perform year-in, year-out to be the best and we're just seeing him start out on that journey.

Most judges would probably put Mark Boucher and Australia's Adam Gilchrist at the top of the bunch of world wicket-keepers right now, but personally, I don't rate either of them as great glovemen. Another 12 months of the quality McCullum's showing now and he'll be head and shoulders above the other two.

The only concern is he seems to be pigeon-holed in this No 7 role with the bat, on the grounds that he's capable of providing a turbo-charged end to the innings, as he did against Pakistan the other day. He's got far more potential than that. He's restricted by that role and I'm hoping he might soon be given more responsibility.

That end-of-innings role in the lower order is important but it's not something that has to be entrusted to someone with as much natural talent.

It's not something you have to be born with; there are many guys in that New Zealand team who could be just as effective if given the opportunity. Vettori, Mills and Franklin immediately spring to mind.

McCullum has the quality in his batting to play a more front-line role and by that we don't automatically have to open with him, as if that's the only other option.

McCullum could bat anywhere in the top six and it would probably be better to keep him away from the new ball. There's no law against batting him at four or five. He's a good enough player.

Given 12 months' hard work and the right encouragement, he could play anywhere in that order and establish his place on merit ahead of other top-order batting specialists.

I can see him averaging 40 in ODIs - if given the chance.