Brendon McCullum has lived by aggression and will probably die by it! The New Zealand skipper made great use of his aggression in the first test against Sri Lanka. With things not looking too optimistic on the fourth day, McCullum staged a sudden but brave declaration. Fair to say, the decision reaped its rewards as the hosts won the first test. McCullum admitted that he was willing to lose in order to win.
“We knew 20 wickets was going to be tough especially when we didn’t have the best of the bowling conditions,” McCullum said. “I think day one was the best of the conditions for the seam or swing bowlers – that was why we tried to maintain our scoring on rate on day, one because we knew we were going to have to buy some time later on.”
“Also the declaration looks a reasonably aggressive declaration, but for us it was really the only way we were going to allow ourselves enough time to not just win the game, but also relieve the pressure of having to win the game. I think sometimes if you don’t leave yourself enough time, then you start chasing wickets and that can lead to not getting wickets that you should. “If Sri Lanka were good enough to chase 400 and run us down in the time that they had then, fair play to them then. We can handle losing if someone else is able to go out and play as well as what they would have had to. But in the end I was pretty comfortable,” McCullum added.
Praising Sri Lanka as a test unit, McCullum said, “The Sri Lankans are a bloody tough opposition to get results against.”Angelo and Chandimal are two world-class batters, and we knew that they were going to be key today. We knew we had to spend some resource to keep them out. There were concerns because the wicket was so flat today. They’re going to pose another tough challenge for us in Hamilton.”
“Sri Lanka have got some excellent young bowlers who I think asked some questions on day one, as well. We’re just thankful that we were good enough at the top of the order to withstand those pressures, and apply some pressure back on them,” said McCullum.