Cricket: McCullum taking the slow road

It was a different Brendon McCullum who walked to the crease at 11.58am yesterday.

A player with an average in excess of 35 and a strike rate of more than 60, we're more used to the McCullum who flails the ball to all corners of the park.

But when the 24-year-old wicketkeeper trundled off Eden Park at 4.07pm yesterday after falling to a sharp catch in the slips off Chris Gayle, the smattering of spectators had witnessed something a little different.

His innings of 74 lasted 187 minutes and 126 balls and was remarkable for the patience and maturity he showed in digging his team out of what was becoming an alarmingly deep hole.

He added 64 with Daniel Vettori and 62 with No 10 Shane Bond to give the Black Caps at least a fighting chance of claiming a vital lead in the three-test series.

"The majority of my career, I have been crash-bash," he admitted after an intriguing third day.

"There's a place for that in the line-up but the situation today was dependent on someone trying to guts it out and I've done it before batting at three at Lord's [when he made 96 in 2004]. I wanted to work hard at that side of my game and guts it out for the boys, so it was nice to put a score on the board."

It's unlikely the aggressive McCullum has been shackled in a cupboard never to be seen again but if his innings turns out to be the match-winner, he can expect a few Cokes in thanks from his team-mates - even the luckless Nathan Astle.

McCullum was the culprit in a dreadful piece of running yesterday that saw his Canterbury team-mate out prematurely but he took full responsibility for the mix-up and, to his credit, ensured he made up for it.

Although the Windies hold a slight ascendancy going into today's fourth day.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY