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.