22 Dec 2015 | Cricket
The New Zealand captain has announced that he will step down from all formats of international cricket after the two Test match series against Australia in February.
McCullum will play his 100th test in Wellington on February 12th where he will become the first player to play 100 consecutive Tests since debut. The 34-year-old will then finish his international career on February 20th at Christchurch where he will play for the international side for the final time.
As a captain McCullum will be remembered for the way he has transformed New Zealand into a positive, attacking and successful side. Under his leadership the Black Caps have reached a World Cup final and have proved extremely difficult to beat in the longer format of the game.
The keeper-batsman has had individual success for New Zealand in all three formats where he has lead with an aggressive and entertaining style. The explosive batsman is one of only nine players to hit an international century in Test, ODI and T20 cricket, and he is currently joint level with Adam Gilcrhist for the most Test match sixes hit (100).
With a Test average just shy of 40 and a triple century to his name, McCullum's Test career may be unfairly shadowed by his dominance in the shorter format of the game, which has seen him hit nearly 6000 ODI runs that have often come in spectacular style at the top of the order.
McCullum is also the all time leading run scorer in international T20 cricket (with 2140 runs) and his absence at the upcoming World T20 will be a huge blow to a side that will now be led by Kane Williamson. McCullum's retirement will most likely see him feature more in Twenty20 tournaments around the world and this is something he has had good success with in the past. This year the ex Glamorgan T20 player helped Birmingham Bears to Finals Day in a campaign that saw him hit 270 runs at an average of 45.