Who is Brandon McMullen? 5 interesting facts about Scotland all-rounder who scored back-to-back fifties in T20I series vs Australia
Brandon McMullen has become the talk of the town after his exploits in the recently concluded Scotland vs Australia T20I series. It was Scotland's first-ever bilateral T20I series against the Aussies, and McMullen scored over 100 runs for the Scottish side. The visitors, though, won 3-0.
McMullen started the series with a 15-ball 19, followed by scores of 59 and 56 in the next two T20I games. He even dismissed Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck with his right-arm medium pace.
An exciting pace-bowling all-rounder has emerged from Scotland in the form of Brandon McMullen, and here are five interesting things to know about him.
#1 Brandon McMullen was born in South Africa
South Africa is one of the powerhouses of cricket, but several talented cricketers from the rainbow nation have moved to other countries. Joining that long list is Brandon McMullen, who plays for Scotland at the international level.
Brandon was born in Durban on October 18, 1999. At the time of writing, he is 24 years and 325 days old. The rising star even played U-17 cricket for KwaZulu-Natal Inland team before moving to Scotland.
#2 Brandon McMullen has been a part of Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in ILT20
Reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders have sister franchises in different T20 leagues across the world. One of them is Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, a team that participates in UAE's International League T20.
Brandon McMullen has been a part of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders squad in ILT20. He has never played a match in the league. However, he has received an opportunity to share the dressing room with the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Imad Wasim, and David Willey.
#3 McMullen made his T20 debut last year only
The young all-rounder played the first T20 match of his professional career against Germany last year in Edinburgh on July 20. So far, he has played 16 T20s, aggregating 497 runs and picking up two wickets.
Speaking of his ODI numbers, the Scottish all-rounder has made 22 appearances in the 50-over format. He has batted in 20 innings, scoring 721 runs, while with the ball, he has bagged 30 wickets at a strike rate of 28.6.
#4 Brandon McMullen met Australian cricketers as a fan in 2018
McMullen scored two T20I half-centuries against Australia this week. However, six years ago, he got a chance to interact with the Australian stars during their tour of South Africa in 2018.
He was an upcoming cricketer in South Africa at that time. The rising star even shared a picture with Pat Cummins on his Instagram profile.
#5 McMullen even scored a half-century against Australia in T20 World Cup 2024
Scotland and Australia had an exciting match in the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage. The Scots could have progressed to the Super 8s had they beaten Australia, and McMullen tried his best by scoring 60 runs.
Unfortunately for McMullen and the Scottish team, Australia eventually won by five wickets. However, McMullen would be proud of the fact that he has scored three half-centuries in four T20I matches against Australia.