'Brendon had the ability to make his players exceed their expectations'

Brendon McCullum's leadership of the New Zealand cricket team has inspired and influenced the way many of us approach the game.

It is an honour to make the side in the first place, but to do so and then experience his captaincy first-hand is something that will stay with me for my career and beyond.

Players who have contact with him tend to exceed their own expectations because he has the ability to draw the best out of them. He earns respect because he leads by example and demonstrates absolute loyalty. That gives you extra confidence, that he believes in you. He truly cares about people.

Baz turned around our culture and seeing him grow as a leader during that period made it an amazing time to be part of the team.

Some players, after years in the New Zealand team, can be forgiven for sticking to their old ways. But Baz was motivated to try to change the culture, along with our coach Mike Hesson.

We all started to see the importance of the team, and Baz was better than anyone at showing that. His ability with the bat was dynamic and world-class, but I will always remember his delivery of clear messages by taking the emotion out. This came after our successes, but especially after our failures. He could put the feeling and emotion aside and deliver the right message for what was required at the time.

I loved the commitment he made to play his own way, despite the criticism he received from some who got frustrated and made efforts to try to change him. I believe that allowed him to play longer for his country, and as a team we were thankful for that. He's a guy who can leave the game saying he played it his way, that he enjoyed it. In fact, that was infectious among the group. He showed why playing for your mates and a common cause can bring more enjoyment out of what we do.

He taught us to be humble and understand that there's more to life than a win or a loss. He brought back the old-school mentality where, if you happened to win, you invite the opposition into the sheds for a beer, or if you lost, make an effort to go to the opposition dressing room and do the same.

On the playing front, one thing none of us will forget is his triple-century at the Basin Reserve a couple of years back. That was uncharted territory for a New Zealander and Baz marched in there and took it. Once he cut that ball behind point, the team rose to applaud and cheer. The dressing room erupted. There was quite a bit of emotion on that occasion, because we desperately wanted him to get there.

His double-hundreds during that year can't be forgotten either, nor the 195 at Hagley Oval, when he got within a few metres of eclipsing Nathan Astle's record for the fastest double-hundred. His effort in Sharjah against Pakistan, the Test played in the shadow of Phillip Hughes' death, was also extraordinary.

We were hit hard thinking of Phil's family and friends. I know cricket was played but Brendon and I mentioned that whole scenario a lot out in the middle during that Test. It was still raw and at the forefront of our minds.

I've always loved Baz's fearless approach to fast bowling, but especially his pride in hitting sixes. However, if there was one aspect to his game that he particularly dined out on, it was his one Test wicket, getting a caught-and-bowled after delivering one of his medium-pacers to Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed in the Dubai Test. He just scooped it up.

Something Brendon believed more and more was that runs and wickets were cool, but being a good person throughout was the most important thing. He also felt that if you are doing anything in life for a period of time, why not make a few mates doing so? I can firmly say Baz leaves the international game having done that. Congrats.