Brendon McCullum now wants to become a opener in test cricket as well after giving up the gloves in order to concentrate on his batting. This move he feels will be aimed at giving his side flying starts in the longer version of the game.
"I wouldn't play conventionally. There's a lot of aggressive test openers around now. It's probably something we haven't really looked at," he told The Dominion Post as he promoted his book in Wellington.
"I'm not saying it's going to work, but I'm going to give it everything I've got to try and make it work."
McCullum quoted famous names who once were middle order batsmen before becoming destructive openers. He named Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Matthew Hayden, who had succeeded as all-guns-blazing test openers.
The opening slot for New Zealand has been a constant source of trouble as they have tried 14 different men since 2005 with little success. Currently BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh are the men who handle that task and are expected to be the first choice pair when their side takes on Bangladesh in September/October. New Zealand are scheduled to play a 3 match series against India and McCullum hoped the side's batting would be invigorated by that time.
"One, two or three are probably the same. I don't mind where. It won't be the stock-standard blunt the ball at the top of the order. "I've got to stick to my strengths and if we're totally honest it probably hasn't worked in the past, the way we've been playing. Why not try something different?"
It would mean a free-scoring top-six with Jesse Ryder [if fit] at three, followed by Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and possibly Kane Williamson.
The Kiwis will miss McCullum during the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving India. That break, breaks a sequence of 208 successive internationals in all three formats, up until the Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in Miami in May. It leaves him third on the all-time list of unbroken appearances, behind Sachin Tendulkar [239 between 1990-98] and Andy Flower [224 from 1992-2001].
McCullum has spent a quiet time since New Zealand's exit from the World Twenty20. His wife, Ellissa, gave birth to their second child, Maya, last week, and he has used that time to recover from cleanup surgery on his left knee.
"The last time I missed a game was for the birth of my boy [Riley, in 2004]. This isn't the reason I'm missing this tour but to have a girl and have an unbroken stretch in between is pretty cool."
"I wouldn't play conventionally. There's a lot of aggressive test openers around now. It's probably something we haven't really looked at," he told The Dominion Post as he promoted his book in Wellington.
"I'm not saying it's going to work, but I'm going to give it everything I've got to try and make it work."
McCullum quoted famous names who once were middle order batsmen before becoming destructive openers. He named Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Matthew Hayden, who had succeeded as all-guns-blazing test openers.
The opening slot for New Zealand has been a constant source of trouble as they have tried 14 different men since 2005 with little success. Currently BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh are the men who handle that task and are expected to be the first choice pair when their side takes on Bangladesh in September/October. New Zealand are scheduled to play a 3 match series against India and McCullum hoped the side's batting would be invigorated by that time.
"One, two or three are probably the same. I don't mind where. It won't be the stock-standard blunt the ball at the top of the order. "I've got to stick to my strengths and if we're totally honest it probably hasn't worked in the past, the way we've been playing. Why not try something different?"
It would mean a free-scoring top-six with Jesse Ryder [if fit] at three, followed by Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and possibly Kane Williamson.
The Kiwis will miss McCullum during the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving India. That break, breaks a sequence of 208 successive internationals in all three formats, up until the Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in Miami in May. It leaves him third on the all-time list of unbroken appearances, behind Sachin Tendulkar [239 between 1990-98] and Andy Flower [224 from 1992-2001].
McCullum has spent a quiet time since New Zealand's exit from the World Twenty20. His wife, Ellissa, gave birth to their second child, Maya, last week, and he has used that time to recover from cleanup surgery on his left knee.
"The last time I missed a game was for the birth of my boy [Riley, in 2004]. This isn't the reason I'm missing this tour but to have a girl and have an unbroken stretch in between is pretty cool."
© CB, ~ Photo courtesy: Getty Images
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