Brendon McCullum is unanimously the coolest dude of modern cricket, all tattooed, aggressive and an extremely good-looking batsman who has instilled sense of fearlessness among the Black Caps who were, till now, known as the perpetually cowering underdogs of the game. He practises what he preaches and, more importantly, is able make his boys believe that the ride to success is never beyond grasp if there’s attitude, hard work and dedication in the race, much like with the horses he rears. The Captain’s presser he addressed on the eve of the Final was only a little bit about the Sunday match and much more about how McCullum has been the ultimate change-maker of this tournament. Excerpts of the interaction:
Who won the real battle of big brother against little brotherIJ
I think he won, but I definitely had some mad successes as well and that’s what’s more important… Tomorrow is a huge occasion but they’ve saved so well all the way through. We’ll go out there and just try to do our best.
Can the little kid from South Dunedin believe that this is about to happen tomorrowIJ
It’s the greatest time of our lives. We dreamed right from the start to now give ourselves a 50-50 chance in the Final is an amazing achievement. The brand of cricket that we’ve played has touched a lot of people and endeared us to a lot of people who follow this game. We’ve got one big hurdle tomorrow. We’ll give it everything we’ve possibly got. Hopefully, if we play well, we’ll be smiling at the end of the day… which would hopefully invigorate the game and New Zealand.
You’ve been using analogies from time to time during the World Cup. Is this like Kiwi rounding the bend at last, about to rip the World Cup away from the AussiesIJ
That would be nice, wouldn’t itIJ I’m not sure what else we’ll do that day, but I’m sure tomorrow we’ll go out as the underdogs. Saying all along underdogs are favourites is an irrelevant tag once the game gets underway. But I do like using the racing analogy and used plenty of it throughout the World Cup and I’ll use some tomorrow before we go out to play as well.
You said you’ve got a 50-50 chance but TAB has got Australia at 1.45 and New Zealand at 2.60. If you weren’t playing tomorrow, you’d probably fancy those odds, wouldn’t youIJ
That’s a terrible question in the current climate. I went to Mooney Valley last night though and managed to watch some horses. That was good fun. We got entertained there and it was great to get to relax leading into such a big game as well. But I love my horses. As I’ve said about this team as well, at times referred to as a horse and I said the horse is never better and I stand by that comment. We’ll play well tomorrow, doesn’t guarantee us anything, doesn’t mean that Australia won’t beat us, but I’m very confident we’ll turn up and display our skills just as we’ve done throughout the tournament. So we’ll give ourselves a good chance.
Is this the Final you wantedIJ
A hundred thousand people in Australia’s backyard, Melbourne Cricket Ground against a very good Australian team! This is the ultimate game for us to be able to play in everyone’s theory. I’m sure some guys will be nervous, so I guess there is some excitement about us going out there and putting our skills against the best in their backyard. Certainly whets the appetite and creates the greatest stage we can ask for.
On the flight over hear from Auckland you said something to a teammate in a different context that nothing is too difficult. Is that the mantraIJ
To a degree. There’s no challenge which is insurmountable. With a lot of hard work, lot of heart, lot of belief and make sure that everyone’s heading in the same direction, you’re able to play a brand of cricket that gives you your greatest chance and that’s what we’ve had throughout this WC. It doesn’t guarantee you success but it gives you the greatest chance. Tomorrow we’ll play an aggressive brand of cricket with bat and ball. Hopefully the big fella upstairs shines on us when the pressure situations come into play.
What are your thoughts about this massive stage compared to what you’ve been playing with back homeIJ
We’ve played on grounds all over the world. If you look at Abu Dhabi, that’s a big ground as well. It doesn’t have the same amphitheatre that the MCG presents, but in boundary size it’s bigger. In this day and age with bigger bats it brings into play the fours and sixes. We’ll adapt accordingly. It’s something that we’ll relish, I think. We’ll look forward to the opportunity to play in such a big stadium and a different kind of cricket ground, and we’ll give it a good shake.
Given Dan Vettori’s troubles with his body, are you marvelling that he’s having such a big impact now and how do you see what he’s done throughout his careerIJ
He’s a tremendous ambassador for the game. All through, he’s played in the right spirit. He’s given over half his life to this game. He’s been an outstanding teammate and a very close friend. He’s been instrumental in us getting here and it’s no surprise that he has been able to play in every game because he worked so hard to get back. He had this as his vision and his dream to be able to make an impact on the game that he probably hadn’t quite made. It’s a testament to a guy with great character. It’ll be nice not just him but other guys as well to achieve the ultimate success.
Could you talk about the run up to the World CupIJ
It wasn’t so long ago that we weren’t in a great space in international cricket. We went through some pretty tough times and that led us to strip things right back and to be totally honest. To develop and understand the style of play, we wanted something which gives us our greatest chance of being the bigger team on more regular occasions. At that point we started to plot our way forward. It’s been almost the perfect way back. We’ve still had some tough times. We’ve lost some personnel. But what we’ve got at this point is a group of guys not just on the field but also the back room staff, reserves who are all desperate to represent New Zealand and make a difference. We’re on the same bus heading in the same direction and that allows us to be rather instinctive on the field and pretty brave as well.
In the last game against Australia, it became a bit at the end of Mitchell Starc’s trend ball slugfest. What are your plans for him tomorrowIJ
Mitchell put out an outstanding spell. He and Trent Boult were able to get the ball to swing quite substantially. They posed a lot of questions about a lot of wicket-taking deliveries. It was a great game of cricket, a tremendous advertisement of the game and a low-scoring thriller played in front of a packed house. It was a bit sad that one team had to win and one had to lose. It’ll be no different tomorrow. Both teams possess match winners throughout their line-up. It’s who grabs the key moments will determine the outcome of the game. They’ve got many match winners, not just Starc, but we’ve done our homework on all of them.
If you’ve read Martin Crowe’s article... he wrote about his pride for you and the team and some of the boys being like his sons he’s never had, and the fact this could be the last match he watches. What does that mean to you and the other playersIJ
I read the article. What he’s going through is incredibly difficult. We had him involved in the group and he spent time with the team which was great. He seems to have found peace with himself and the game as well. He’s been instrumental in helping our guys peel back their games and focus on developing individually but also buy into the team collectively. So he’s been a really big asset, It’s sad what he’s going through, and we hope that he’s able to find some peace in the time that he’s got left.
Do you think this match can develop into an Australia-New Zealand rivalry like a cross-border rivalry of India and PakistanIJ
It’s a healthy rivalry. We’ve seen some epic battles over the years and across codes. It’s not just cricket and rugby, it’s all codes. Tomorrow is no different. What people enjoy most about this current team is, we have humble guys who are trying their absolute best to represent a country and play an attacking brand of cricket.
Is aggression something the Australians could be a little scared ofIJ
We play it pretty similar. They’re very attacking as well, led by Michael Clarke and his innovation as captain. They’ve got some devastating stroke players. Their bowlers try to swing the ball and take wickets. So you flip that over and it’s probably similar to us.
Do you think it will be too muchIJ
Too much aggressionIJ I don’t think so. That’s how we’re going to beat teams on regular occasions. We’re not afraid of losing. We think about what we can achieve. There are going to be times when we come out on the wrong side. But that gives us our greatest chance of success against big oppositions. So we’ll continue to develop a sense of fearlessness and real can-do attitude.
You and Clarke made your debuts within six months of each other. Do you believe you’ve got what it takes tactically to beat Michael ClarkeIJ
I don’t think it’s Michael Clarke versus me, it’s Australia versus New Zealand. And I’m more with the tactics we’re going to employ. It doesn’t guarantee us success but it’s is going to make us hard to beat. Innovation and instinct can only come from hard work. We’ve got to earn the right to be able to be as aggressive as we want to be and Australia will be no different.
We all know you bat extremely aggressively. With the size of the occasion tomorrow, do you change the way you bat or do you do exactly what you always doIJ
I’ll stick to the aggression. It would be a bit silly to change, wouldn’t itIJ We’ll have a go. We’ll step up tomorrow and we’ll try to be as good as we’ve been throughout this tournament. It gives us our greatest chance of success.
This whole thing about the MCG, half your team hasn’t played here before and nearly all of you haven’t played here for six years. Is it going to feel like a 12th Man almostIJ
No, I think it’s a great stage. It’s a great stage to be able to test ourselves in the development that we’ve made. Boundaries are big, but the bats are bigger too.
The overall atmosphereIJ
AB de Villiers said the other day that Eden Park was probably the most electric crowd he’s played in front of. At Eden Park the crowd is right on you. I’ve played in front of 90,000 or 1,00,000 people in Eden Gardens as well. So once you’re out there and involved in the contest, the game remains the game. It’s a contest between bat and ball. As long as you get yourself in that state, and that helps sometimes when you’ve got the crowd on your side. But ultimately it’s not going to determine who wins or loses.
New Zealand people think of New Zealand sport and they think Dan Carter, Colin Meads and Grant Fox. How much does it mean to you that over the past six weeks you’ve sort of put your name up there at that kind of level and being viewed in that wayIJ
We know when the World Cup is over we’ll sort of return a little bit to where things were. But at the moment we’ll just try to embrace the fan following and what we’ve been able to achieve for New Zealand. It’s captivated the country back home. We’ve felt the support all through. Even while we’re here in Melbourne, we are feeling the support of the people back home. For us to be talked about and followed in the same breath as some of the great All Black teams, it’s immensely satisfying.
Irrespective of the result tomorrow, would you guys add to the fact that you’ve had an eclectic mix such as yourself, a good, healthy, eclectic mix of youth and experienceIJ
Some of our strongest leaders are our some of our youngest guys with Kane Williamson and Tim Southee strongly in the group. The beauty about this current team is age doesn’t necessarily guarantee a leadership role. It’s about how you carry yourself, how you perform. I look around and I see a lot of leaders in the group. They possess the behaviour, the skills and the desperation that you can rely on during crunch situations.
There seems to have been an effort during the week to intimidate New Zealand with the size of the ground. Is New Zealand intimidatedIJ
No, we’re not. We’re excited.
Many Indian fans will be supporting New Zealand. Is that a bonusIJ
I’m pleased you touched on that. Because I reckon we might have the home crowd tomorrow actually. I think it’s probably no secret that most of the other teams around the world would probably fair New Zealand to win Australia. So hopefully we’ll get a good support and I’m sure the Indian guys will certainly be rooting for us.