Players scoring 1000 runs in a calendar year (In Tests)
Brendon McCullum had a prolific year of test cricket in 2014. He achieved the feat of scoring more than 1000 runs once – in 2014. It was 2 years ago, in 2013 he took up the burden of captaincy. Before that, New Zealand was running through a turmoil. They were in search of a talisman who would assist and lead them to rise from the ashes. McCullum lifted his team through his performance, determination, passion and leadership how to shock the best of opponents. Here was a role model that his team could look up to, when they were badly in search of one.
| Player | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | Year |
| B.B. McCullum | 9 | 16 | 1164 | 302 | 72.75 | 4 | 2014 |
Player of the Match Awards (In Tests) – 4
For someone who comes to bat in with the lower middle order, add that to the extra burden of being the force in the 22 yeards as the captain of the side, this achievement is creditable. He has had 4 Man of the Match awards in his test career. First of this MOM award came at the Bangabandhu National Stadium against Bangladesh where he scored a 143 in the first innings and 6 catches. His final of the MOM awards came against his favourite opponent India, where in he scored a 302 in the second innings.
| Date | Opponent | Ground | Runs | Catches |
| 19/10/2004 | Bangladesh | Bangabandhu National Stadium | 143 | 6 |
| 12/11/2010 | India | Rajiv Gandhi International Stdium | 229 | 1 |
| 06/02/2014 | India | Eden Park | 225 | 0 |
| 14/02/2014 | India | Basin Reserve | 310 | 0 |
In the career that spanned over 14 careers, he was a swashbuckling batsman, a tattoo freak, passionate leader and he had the determination to succeed. He was electric in the field and had that extra-ordinary ability to lift his team mates on the field. He was brutal and brilliant to watch. The past two years, there was a makeover to his batting for he believed in his ability. He is just the second man after Chris Gayle to score a T20 international hundred. He scoops and whoops the 155 kphs over the wicket-keepers head. So you could imagine how fast his hands were and his muscle power. McCullum will be remembered in the annals of history not just as a swashbuckling batsman, but someone who engineered and constructed one of the strongest teams in Test cricket and of course the persona who lead the Kiwis into the World Cup finals.
Adieu Brendon. It was a treat to watch everything you did on the cricket field !
