McCullum Snr: 'I was nervous, that's for sure'

Brendon McCullum leaves the ground after batting for the entirety of day four. Photo / Getty Images

At around 9.30pm yesterday, Stu McCullum made an important decision.

He decided he would again alter his flight home from Wellington to Christchurch - which was scheduled for early this morning - to allow him to watch the fifth day of the second cricket test between New Zealand and India.

Considering Stu's son, Brendon, was not out overnight on 281, it seemed an easy choice and Stu was in the crowd at the Basin Reserve today to watch the Black Caps' captain make history with a personal tally of 302 runs.

McCullum Jnr's knock saw him become the first New Zealander to make a triple century in a test, surpassing Martin Crowe's 299 scored against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in 1991.

McCullum Snr's decision to change his flight last night came after he was meant to fly home yesterday afternoon, but got to the airport to find he had actually booked the flight for next month.

He then rebooked to fly home this morning and made his way back to the Basin to watch the rest of day four, but decided last night he couldn't bypass the chance to see his son rewrite the record books.

"A bit of that and a few discussions with a couple of people,'' McCullum Snr said. "So I'm quite glad I made the decision, obviously.''

Having watched his son play on countless occasions, Stu said Brendon's innings during the past three days had its own unique place.

"Put it this way; it's the longest innings, obviously, that he's played. I've seen him play different innings. I think this innings was a combination of aggression but certainly a major part of it was concentration and dedication of what the job needed. So he's played fantastic innings at times with different results so it was special.''

McCullum Snr said he was on edge this morning as he watched his son creep towards the milestone.

"I don't normally get nervous but I was nervous around the 290s, that's for sure.''

Stu was due to fly home this evening and he will no doubt take some special memories with him.