KEY POINTS:
What a difference a game makes. From the minute the Black Caps entered the limited overs playing arena in South Africa, they looked far more assured.
Sure, they lost their first two limited overs games but it wasn't because of their batting or bowling skills - it was their catching and you can work with that.
Kyle Mills has made a difference and Jamie How has given himself something to really build on but the player that could take the Black Caps to the top of the ODI tree and lift their batting fortunes in test cricket is Brendon McCullum.
I was one who was adamant he must stay in the lower order in ODIs because of his finishing qualities but with Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan gone, the dynamic of the team has changed.
Now is time for McCullum to go from one of the game's best finishers to world class instigator at the top of the order and to become a prolific runs scorer at seven in test matches.
During the highly competitive 1980s, the Black Caps were built around Martin Crowe and Sir Richard Hadlee, who were backed by more than capable cricketers.
Currently the Black Caps are dominated by more than capable cricketers but lack that true star with the bat and their Hadlee equivalent in Shane Bond is just not around enough.
McCullum can become a batting star. He was an absolute standout at youth level. That is a long way from senior international proficiency but don't doubt for a minute that McCullum doesn't believe he can be just as dominant at the top as he was at schoolboy level.
You would struggle to find a more driven individual desperate to demonstrate how good he really is. You would also struggle to find a more competitive player. He can be quite terse and surly at times but that is good because it is borne of an attitude that does not suffer mediocrity from either himself or those around him - which is perhaps why he has quickly become a first lieutenant for Daniel Vettori.
McCullum's development as a frontline international batsman may have been stunted by the need to develop his wicketkeeping and it is not easy to find the time constantly for both skills. It may also have been stunted by impatience. At times he's been guilty of rash shots and over-flamboyance which I'd say has come from a desire to show us all just what he can do.
Of late, he still keeps you on the edge of your seat but it all looks more measured. Now is not the time for McCullum to lose patience because that will mature his cricket. Now is the time to realise the immense natural ability he possesses.
There are plenty of runs in the waiting in both forms of the game from McCullum, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, How and Ross Taylor and let's hope McCullum's example of bloody-mindedness, determination and self-belief is the catalyst for those others to scale the heights of which they are still capable.
