McCullum heads into ODI retirement with New Zealand win

Tuesday, 9 February 2016 00:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum ended his one-day international career with a series victory over Australia on Monday with his side sealing a 55-run win in the deciding third match at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

New Zealand, who were all out for 246 in 45.3 overs, managed to dismiss Australia for 191 in 43.4 overs to give them a 2-1 series win that helped them retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which is played for between the two countries in one-dayers.

The 34-year-old McCullum is retiring from all international cricket at the conclusion of the two-test series against the same opponents.

BUP_DFTDFT-24-01 New Zealand pose with the series trophies, New Zealand v Australia, 3rd ODI, Hamilton

“I feel incredibly lucky to play for 14 years, meet some great blokes and make some great friends,” McCullum said in a televised interview. “I want to thank everyone for supporting me and making it possible.”

The win, however, was marred by a surreal period of play when the crowd appeared to influence a decision on the field.

All-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who took 3-34 in New Zealand’s innings, appeared well-set on 41 with his side 164-5 in the 34th over and back in control of the match before he hit a delivery back to bowler Matt Henry.

Henry half-heartedly appealed for a caught and bowled but it was turned down.

The giant television screen at the ground then showed a replay that created a huge uproar from the crowd who thought it had cannoned into Marsh’s boot before popping back to the bowler.

Umpires Ian Gould and Derek Walker then asked third umpire Sundaram Ravi for a review after they also saw the replay and heard the crowd reaction.

Slow-motion cameras showed the ball had not hit the ground before Henry took the catch and Ravi told Gould to give the Australian out, which caused an angry outburst from Marsh and his batting partner Matthew Wade.

Big-hitting McCullum joins 200 ODI sixes club

AFP: Brendon McCullum completed the sixes double Monday as he signed off his one-day international career with a trademark blockbuster of an innings in the third one-day international against Australia in Hamilton.

One of the biggest hitters in the game, McCullum smacked the ball over the boundary three times in his 47 off 27 balls to take him BUP_DFTDFT-24-001 to 200 sixes from 260 one-day matches to go with his 100 Test sixes.

His power-hitting approach gave New Zealand a rollicking start in the series decider with the home team 84-1 in the 10th over when McCullum was dismissed.

McCullum shares the world record for Test sixes with Australian Adam Gilchrist and is fourth on the ODI list which is headed by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi with 351.

Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya hit 270 ODI sixes in his career and the West Indies’ Chris Gayle smashed 238.

The 34-year-old McCullum received a guard of honour from the Australian team when he walked to the crease and was given a standing ovation from the capacity 8,000 crowd when he left.

After this match he will play in two Tests against Australia before retiring from international cricket.