KEY POINTS:
BRISBANE - Brendon McCullum has vowed to lead the way against Australia as New Zealand's vice-captain eyes the title of world cricket's best wicketkeeper-batsman.
Despite back problems which were still causing him discomfort, McCullum said he had no plans to relinquish the gloves in the short term and wanted to anchor the batting at No 5.
McCullum is New Zealand's key man against Australia in the first test starting tomorrow as the heat goes on the tourists' inexperienced batting lineup which crumbled twice against a second-string New South Wales pace attack in a six-wicket defeat.
Since he shifted up the order after former captain Stephen Fleming's retirement in March, his numbers have been respectable in the top-six.
In nine test innings in England and Bangladesh he scored 305 runs at 33.85. including three half-centuries. His best effort was a 97 against England in the first test at Lord's.
The 37-test veteran, 27, felt there was still more to give, with an average of 40 recognised as the mark of a world-class player.
"You're only in the game for a short period of time. With such a young, inexperienced side I'm trying to take it by the horns and make some sort of contribution higher up the order and get a bit more proactive," he said.
"That's what I've tried to do in one-day cricket as well and had a few decent cracks before I felt comfortable in that role.
"If I can get a little bit more success in the immediate future then hopefully I'll be able to lock that down for a period of time too."
New Zealand are widely seen as easybeats in the two-test series, with McCullum and captain Daniel Vettori the only players deemed world-class in Australia.
The task will be slightly easier this time with Australia without their two champion retiree bowlers, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath who were dominant in their 2-0 series win in the previous transtasman clash in 2005.
The prospect of a fast bowler-friendly Gabba pitch was offsetting that, against a team McCullum rated still "clearly the best in the world" despite their recent 0-2 defeat in India.
He felt he could best contribute to the team at No 5 in the order.
"At seven you're always reacting to a situation, either blast your way out of trouble or try and dig in and make sure you don't get rolled for not many.
"At five, if you're 20-3, 100-3, 300-3, none of those are a real train smash whereas coming in at seven the game can often be so far away from you.
"From that point of view it's a real chance to be proactive. Batting down at seven a 50, 70 or 80 was outstanding, whereas a 50, 70 or 80 at five isn't nearly what's required.
"You're working for 120-150, a real mindset change."
There were no immediate thoughts of playing as a batsman only, as he was forced to at Trent Bridge in June when his back problems saw Gareth Hopkins called up. McCullum scored nine and 71 batting at No 3.
The back spasms and general soreness were hazards of the job, he said, but with physiotherapy and rest he could remain crouching behind the stumps.
"I've got big aspirations as a wicketkeeper-batsman and it's pretty hard to achieve those if you're not wicketkeeping. I'm hoping to develop my keeping and become better at it, and offer more value in terms of my batting."
- NZPA
