Cricket: Hero doesn't see spot at the top - yet

Brendon McCullum hits another one over the boundary in his sparkling innings of 50 on Saturday night. Picture / Getty Images

Brendon McCullum's innings-ending heroics are set to continue from the lower order for the New Zealand cricket team - at least in the short term.

After his 25-ball, unbeaten 50 which carried the Black Caps to a record-breaking two-wicket win over Australia in Christchurch on Saturday, McCullum paid tribute to the middle order men he admired - Chris Harris and Michael Bevan.

The athletic wicketkeeper said the pair set the standard for all specialist late-order batsmen to follow.

McCullum, who made his one-day debut as an opener four years ago in Australia, has previously voiced a preference to return there.

However, yesterday's match-winning blast came just three days after nearly guiding the Black Caps to unlikely victory at Wellington. His innings then of 48 ended via a Michael Clarke run-out in the final over - an act that possibly decided the Chappell-Hadlee series.

McCullum gave the impression he would still like to test his skills higher but accepted his short-term fate at No 9.

"The way Lou Vincent's playing at the top of the order is fantastic," McCullum said.

"I don't see a spot at the top for me at the moment because of the way the guys are playing. The capabilities they've got at the top don't necessarily allow someone else to come up the order.

"Where I'm at at the moment in my career, down the order is good."

He said the approach of both veteran New Zealand all-rounder Harris and retired Australian Bevan at the end of innings was straightforward but very effective.

"Both of them get themselves in first and then assess the situation and try to give themselves a chance at the end," he said.

"It's almost as simple as that. You just have to hit some boundaries and try to put the opposition under some pressure at the end."

The loss of Jacob Oram for 42 and Scott Styris for 101 in the 43rd over brought McCullum and captain Daniel Vettori together, charged with putting on 74 in seven overs with just Kyle Mills to follow.

Their plan was to settle with a couple of overs of singles while always sniffing for a loose ball.

With drizzle making the ball slippery, they got plenty of those from the inexperienced attack and McCullum took full toll in a rampant knock.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said the fact those two well-performed batsmen were at the crease showed the depth in the Black Caps' batting order.

"McCullum's innings was sensational, that was the difference in the game," Ponting said of an innings that featured three fours and four sixes. "In the final 4-5 overs, to McCullum in particular, we had to be bowling yorkers on leg stump. I didn't see too many of those landed, if any.

"And we just allowed him to hit the ball in his strong zones. For someone who strikes the ball as well as he does, when he does get it right then you're going to go and we went tonight."

- NZPA