Brendon McCullum:
Now retired New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who revolutionized cricket in New Zealand, put his own ambition, to score the most number of Test sixes and break Adam Gilchrist’s record in process during the Test series against Sri Lanka in Dunedin, on the backburner. He declared team’s second innings once their lead had passed 400 rather than attempting to claim outright the record for Test sixes after equaling the mark of 100 by Australia’s Adam Gilchrist.
New Zealand set Sri Lanka a 405 run target and comfortably won the Test by 122 runs on Monday when the tourists were dismissed in their second innings for 282. McCullum, during his whirlwind 27 not out in six deliveries, smacked the ball twice over the rope.
He knew one more would take him past Gilchrist but had made a promise to his team to declare. “I said (a lead of) 400 to the boys so it would have looked pretty selfish if I’d stayed out there for one more crack at it,” he said, adding it meant a lot to him to be recognised as a big hitter.
“It’s the only record I actually care about. It’s the only record that Kane (Williamson) or Ross (Taylor) aren’t going to break as well so I should be able to hold on to that one. I’ve been aware of it for a while as you can probably tell by the way I’ve batted all through my career.”
McCullum in the next series surpassed Gilchrist’s record as he ended his career with 107 sixes, a world record indeed.