Brendon McCullum retires
Baz, and the new New Zealand
Fab fielder, feared batsman, respected captain, New Zealand's darling…
On February 8, 2016, Brendon McCullum walked out one last time for New Zealand in limited-overs cricket. To mark the occasion, here's a look back on his storied international career in the shorter formats•Getty Images
On February 8, 2016, Brendon McCullum walked out one last time for New Zealand in limited-overs cricket. To mark the occasion, here's a look back on his storied international career in the shorter formats•Getty Images
A cricketing family: It's safe to say cricket is in Brendon's blood, with father Stuart having played 75 first-class and 41 List A games back in the day. Brother Nathan got some of those cricketing genes too, and the brothers turned out for New Zealand together 114 times•Getty Images
A time for reflection: McCullum was not always a crowd favourite. He was tagged talented but unpredictable with the bat for a big chunk of his career - not without reason - and, less charitably, was not seen as captaincy material. His reputation hit rock bottom when he took over from the much-loved Ross Taylor - a rather messy handover that was portrayed as a classic good-versus-evil tale•AFP
Batting in the IPL age: Rewind to April 18, 2008, the first day of the first season of the Indian Premier League. McCullum made sure the cricket world's eyes were firmly fixed on the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore by hammering 158 not out off 73 for Kolkata Knight Riders, 13 sixes included•Getty Images
When cricket ruled in rugby country: The 2015 World Cup rolled around with co-hosts New Zealand showing many signs of being genuine contenders. McCullum beamed out of TVs and ATMs alike, urging his countrymen to "dream big", and dream big they did as cricket's popularity hit unparalled highs. The team did not disappoint either, marching into their first World Cup final•Nikita Bastian/ESPNcricinfo
The cricket frenzy continues: They might have fallen at the final hurdle, but New Zealand's skill and conduct won them many fans, a few thousand of whom came out to welcome them back home post-final. McCullum had successfully rebranded New Zealand cricket, and that just might be his lasting legacy•Getty Images
Baz's five-fors: Before all the rest, Brendon McCullum was a wicketkeeper first. In his first year of international cricket, against India in Napier, he claimed a stumping and four catches to equal the New Zealand ODI record for most dismissals in an innings. He took another five in the very next match. He would go on to do this three more times in his career•Getty Images
Faster, higher, and rather spectacular: When he was not behind the stumps, McCullum attempted to fly all around the ground instead. In the 30-yard circle or on the boundary, there were few who could beat McCullum for skill, athleticism or commitment•BCCI
McCullum leads, New Zealand follows: Systematically and totally, though, captain McCullum went on to change the image fans had of him, and the cricket world had of New Zealand. Impressing with his attacking tactics, McCullum went on to record victory in 61.86% of the ODIs he led in, the best winning percentage for a New Zealand captain (min. eight games)•Getty Images
The downside: Did McCullum, the batsman, not live up to his potential in ODI cricket though? An average just touching 30, and five hundreds (three of which came against Canada, Ireland and Zimbabwe) in a 14-year career... You'd have to admit as much, especially when you look at the impact his hard-hitting had in the later stages of his career•Getty Images
Baz-ooka: McCullum might not have scored truckloads of runs in the World Cup, but the runs he did score were brutal: 328 from nine innings at a strike rate of 188.50. His four fifties all resulted in victory and included 77 off 25 in an utter and total dismantling of England (eight-wicket loss with 226 balls remaining), as well as a demolition of Dale Steyn; he clubbed 59 off 26 in that semi-final, 24 of which came in one Steyn over •Getty Images
And so McCullum's limited-overs journey ended, 14 years after it began. Featuring 260 ODIs (the third-most for New Zealand), 6083 ODI runs (again, No. 3 on New Zealand's charts), and 242 dismissals while keeping wicket (the New Zealand record by almost double). Take a bow, Baz•Getty Images
Mr Nice Guy: Following the 2015 World Cup final, Australia's Brad Haddin said New Zealand were so "nice", they made him "uncomfortable". McCullum epitomised this niceness, and, unlike Haddin, the fans loved him and his team for it. Remember the time he refused a single in the 2012 World T20 because bowler Akila Dananjaya had been hit by the ball?•AFP
Scoops of delight: When McCullum announced he would be retiring at the end of the New Zealand summer, ESPNcricinfo asked our readers what their favourite memory of him was. Many of you said it was those outrageous scoops off Shaun Tait's 150kph inswinging yorkers in 2010. Ingenious play that, as is this shot. And makes for a great photo too, doesn't it?•Getty Images
T20I highs: No such complaints in the shortest format. He exits the Twenty20 international stage sitting comfortably atop the batting charts, the only man to have broken the 2000-run barrier (2140 runs at 35.66), and the only one to have scored two T20I centuries (123 v Bangladesh, 116* v Australia)•Getty Images
World Cup heartbreak: A few days after that epic, emotional game against South Africa at a jam-packed Eden Park, it all ended in tears of a different kind at the MCG. McCullum's innings reflected New Zealand's ordinary day: three balls, two ugly swipes, and an off stump lost to a ripper from Mitchell Starc. A World Cup lost too•Robert Cianflone/Getty Images