Brendon McCullum quits keeper’s role, wants to open for Kiwis in tests

AUCKLAND - Wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum wants to open for New Zealand in Tests after deciding this year to quit his wicket keeping role.

McCullum will have to win his place in the team as a specialist batsman after making the decision to give up the gloves, and he thinks he would provide New Zealand with an aggressive opening option.

“I wouldn’t play conventionally. There’s a lot of aggressive test openers around now. It’s probably something we haven’t really looked at,” McCullum was quoted by the New Zealand Herald, as saying on Friday.

He added: “I’m not saying it’s going to work, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to try and make it work.”

New Zealand has struggled for many years to find a settled and productive opening partnership and McCullum, who has averaged 34.90 in 52 tests, is seen to offer the national selectors a new option.

McCullum said he realized that his decision to give up the wicket-keeping role meant he was no longer an automatic selection.

“It’s gutsy. You go from being a dead ‘cert’ in the team to now not knowing whether you’ll get selected,” he said.

“It makes it tough but I’m up for the challenge,” he added.

McCullum will not be the first wicketkeeper who has also been a test opener. West Indian Clyde Walcott opened the innings in his first Test match against England in 1948.

Alec Stewart did so in tests for England, Wayne Phillips for Australia, Romesh Kaluwitharana for Sri Lanka, Andy Flower for Zimbabwe and Adam Parore, briefly, for New Zealand.

Adam Gilchrist for Australia, Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka and Kamran Akmal for Pakistan have done so in the limited-overs format. (ANI)