5 reasons why Brendon McCullum is currently the best ODI captain in the world

The role of a captain on a cricket field can never be over-emphasized. He is the man pulling the strings. He is the one controlling the flow of the game. Far too often, captains have got strategies so wrong, they’ve affected the course of an entire series. Be it Sourav Ganguly against Australia in 2001, Michael Vaughan against Australia in 2005 or even Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup, captains have often shown their side the way to scintillating performances. At the current World Cup, there is MS Dhoni. There is Michael Clarke. There is AB de Villiers. But undoubtedly the one man who has captivated everyone’s attention with his brand of captaincy has been Brendon McCullum. Here’s a look at 5 reasons why McCullum the captain has been very effective:

#1 Leading from the front

In all of New Zealand’s crucial group games at the beginning of the tournament – against Sri Lanka, England and Australia – McCullum started in fifth gear. He set the tone for the Kiwis to score 300+ in their opener against Sri Lanka. He knocked any faint hope that England might have had of defending 123 right out of the window, with a 25-ball 77 that was nothing short of spectacular.

Against Australia, in hindsight, his 21-ball half-century was crucial as he knocked off more than half the runs needed before Mitchell Starc started to breathe fire. Whether or not his batting has rubbed off on his captaincy or vice versa, McCullum has been New Zealand’s trump card at this World Cup.

#2 Incredible energy

On the field, McCullum is a nightmare for a batsman. If the ball is anywhere in his vicinity, you can never be sure that McCullum would not get to the ball. He is lightning quick across the turf and has brilliant reflexes. When your captain displays that sort of energy, it is bound to rub off on the rest of the team. No surprise then that New Zealand have been the best fielding side of the World Cup.

When you have a batting line-up as gifted as the Black Caps, it could demoralize the opposition when you save as many as 25-30 runs on the field. McCullum, sometimes, does that on his own.

#3 Relentless aggression

When youre a bowler, you always want to take wickets. And when your captain says hell back you to the hilt with the fields he sets, you get a fillip as a bowler. Thatsexactly what has happened with Tim Southee and Trent Boult at this World Cup.

As much as both Southee and Boult are wonderfully gifted fast bowlers, one cannot help but think that McCullums aggression as a captain, always wanting to take wickets and not just contain the batsmen, has resulted in both ofthe Kiwis premier fast bowlers reaping rich rewards.

#4 Always looking for wickets

McCullum’s quest for wickets has never stopped. In that quest, he has always ensured that at least one of his best bowlers is operating from either of the ends. With bowlers of the quality of Southee, Boult and Daniel Vettori, oppositions would always worry when one of them is bowling. Shining examples of McCullum’s usage of his bowlers came through against both England and Australia. Against England, he kept bowling Tim Southee, knowing that he had found his rhythm and Southee picked seven wickets.

Against Australia, New Zealand were under pressure as Australia were turning on the gas. But, McCullum brought Vettori on to slow things down, and when he saw that it was working, he kept Vettori on to bowl through his quota of ten overs. With Boult as well, he did a similar thing in that game. The result was that, by the time Australia had played 26 overs, Vettori and Boult had bowled their full quota of overs, and Australia were nine wickets down.

#5 Other players in good form

Although McCullum’s captaincy has made a great difference, the way the Kiwis have executed his ideas has been terrific. It’s all fancy having four or five slips in an ODI game, or finishing two of your best bowlers’ quotas with half the innings still left, if you do not have the quality of players to keep the pressure that you have envisaged, you are never going to be successful as a captain.

At different stages through the group stages, the likes of Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Southee, Boult and Vettori have all put their hands up and vindicated their captain’s approach.

That old adage, “A Captain is only as good as his team” still holds good. Only sometimes, the captain decides how good the team is, as well.