It was a yorker which got him out but Brendon McCullum made his final innings on Eden Park against Australia today something to savour.

He swung hard at, and missed, three successive balls in Josh Hazlewood's first over to start unpromisingly. But once he'd got his eye on the New Zealand captain was away.

He took 6, 4, 4, 6 in successful Hazlewood deliveries, and found time for a trademark scoop for six to fine leg as the crowd roared him on to 44.

This, remember, is the McCullum who was out first ball, hooking to fine leg, in his return game after a month off with a back injury, against Pakistan on the same ground last Sunday.

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The boo brigade quickly marshalled their troops and the New Zealand captain was skewered.

Today he was out in the middle for 28 balls, three of which sailed over the fence, five others which reached the fence.

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Martin Guptill played his part as the pair put on 79 in 10.1 overs before a James Faulkner yorker, delivered from around the wicket, beat his stroke.

The crowd stood as McCullum made his way off the ground. There was a brief wave of the bat to his right and left before he disappeared into the shadows of the stand.

McCullum doesn't want this to be a farewell tour against the Aussies. That's fluff and irrelevant in his book. But he's got two ODI innings then a maximum four test innings left.

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Wellington, both Westpac Stadium and the Basin Reserve, Hamilton's Seddon Park and, finally, Hagley Oval in Christchurch will have their chance this month to salute the most influential New Zealand cricketer in modern times.

It'll be hard for McCullum to escape the spotlight, much as he might want to.