A contemplative Brendon McCullum met with media in Kandy yesterday as he weighs up the significance of the World T20 tournament result on his career legacy.
It was hard to gauge McCullum's demeanour in the foyer of the New Zealand team's hotel. Perhaps it was quiet confidence; perhaps it was a distant focus encompassing the desire to pick up some elusive international silverware for a team he has been at the core of for more than 10 years. Perhaps it was just the view out of the bay window on to Sri Lanka's lush highlands that caught his eye.
McCullum is adamant this team can produce a repeat of 2011 where they turned around 11 straight sub-continent one-day international defeats to make the semifinals of the World Cup, defeating a rampant South Africa in the quarter-finals. This time New Zealand has had to endure series defeats to South Africa, the West Indies and India in all but one format [the one-off T20 match win in India].
"I tried not to focus on what went wrong then [2011] and that applies this time. Yes we haven't had the greatest of lead-ins but there's the opportunity to play some good cricket over the next three weeks.
"[The wicket's] a bit slower here than in Colombo but the feedback from our guys who played in the Sri Lankan Premier League was that this pitch had some carry and bounce which should still suit our seam attack. It's important to embed ourselves here because these three-hour games can tend to be a bit flippant.
