Nathan Leslie McCullum (born 1 September 1980) is a New Zealand former international cricketer who represented the national team in One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket.[1] A right-arm off-break bowler, he played domestically for Otago between the 1999–2000 and 2015–16 seasons. He was also a part of the New Zealand squad to finish as runners-up at the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Nathan McCullum
Personal information
Full name
Nathan Leslie McCullum
Born (1980-09-01) 1 September 1980 (age 44)
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBowling all-rounder
Relations
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 156)8 September 2009 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI19 August 2015 v South Africa
ODI shirt no.15
T20I debut (cap 26)19 September 2007 v South Africa
Last T20I26 March 2016 v Bangladesh
T20I shirt no.15
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1999/00–2015/16Otago (squad no. 8)
2010Lancashire
2011Pune Warriors India
2011/12–2012/13Sydney Sixers (squad no. 15)
2013Glamorgan (squad no. 9)
2015St Lucia Zouks
2015/16Quetta Galdiators
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 84 63 65 203
Runs scored 1,070 299 2,329 3,077
Batting average 20.98 11.50 25.04 23.31
100s/50s 0/4 0/0 1/14 1/16
Top score 65 36* 106* 119
Balls bowled 3,536 1,123 11,508 9,079
Wickets 63 58 139 169
Bowling average 46.92 22.03 40.05 41.41
5 wickets in innings 0 0 3 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 3/24 4/16 6/90 5/39
Catches/stumpings 41/– 26/– 71/– 97/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  New Zealand
ICC Cricket World Cup
Runner-up 2015 Australia and New Zealand
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 24 March 2024

He retired from international cricket after the 2016 ICC World Twenty20.[2][3]

Personal life

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McCullum is the son of former Otago cricketer Stuart McCullum and the older brother of Otago and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.[4] Both brothers attended King's High School in Dunedin.[5]

McCullum is married; he is the father of three boys and since retiring from cricket has moved to Auckland to work as a construction recruitment agent, specialising in the field of industrial and commercial construction, including land building maintenance and office refurbishment.[6][7] He became the general manager of Total Property Worx, an Auckland-based construction firm.[8][9]

Domestic career

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McCullum made his first-class debut for Otago in the 1999–2000 season. His first List A match came in the 2000–01 season, and his first Twenty20 domestic match was against Canterbury at Christchurch on 13 January 2006. Later that year, McCullum was selected as part of the 30-man preliminary squad for the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy alongside fellow Otago teammates Warren McSkimming and Bradley Scott, but ultimately missed out on the final squad. In 2007, he toured the Netherlands and served as a player-coach for Hermes Cricket Club, taking charge of the age group and main team.[10]

McCullum played in a number of overseas Twenty20 tournaments from 2010 for sides including Lancashire, Pune Warriors India, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sydney Sixers, and Glamorgan.[11][12][13] In 2010, he replaced Shoaib Malik as Lancashire's overseas player for the T20 Blast[14] and was selected by Sydney Sixers for the 2011–12 Big Bash League season.[15] He was part of the Sydney team which won the 2012 Champions League Twenty20, taking three wickets in the final against Highveld Lions.[16][17]

International career

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He made his Twenty20 International debut for New Zealand against South Africa on 19 September 2007 at the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.[18] However, he was dropped from the team after his T20I debut and worked harder with Mike Hesson in order to get back into the New Zealand team.[5] He was also omitted from the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.[19]

He made his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka on 8 September 2009 at the age of 27 in Colombo.[20] It marked his comeback return to the national team after a gap of two years. Although never playing test cricket, he has been a valuable asset in the shorter forms of the game, particularly in the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the sub-continent, where New Zealand ended up in semi finals.[21] In February 2011, he was ruled out of New Zealand's opening match against Kenya after being hospitalised due to high fever.[22][23] He played a key role in the quarterfinal match against South Africa Africa the 2011 World Cup where he took 3/24 in a low scoring match defending 221.[24][25][26]

Although, Nathan was a regular feature in New Zealand's limited overs side since 2010s, his opportunities were often hampered at times due to the presence of Daniel Vettori who served as the lead spinner for New Zealand for a long time.[27]

In an ODI against Sri Lanka at Hambantota in 2013, Nathan McCullum smashed 22 runs off spinner Rangana Herath's final over of the match when New Zealand required 21 in the last over. His match winning knock of unbeaten 32 off just nine deliveries including three sixes and one four in the penultimate over secured New Zealand a victory in a tense close rain curtailed match.[28] He was also part of the New Zealand squad at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and in a group stage match against hosts England during the tournament, he set the record for taking the most number of catches in a Champions Trophy match with four.[29][30] During the 2013 Champions Trophy, he also played a pivotal role in New Zealand's only win in the tournament scoring crucial 32 off 42 balls against Sri Lanka in a low scoring match where New Zealand won by one wicket chasing 139.[31]

Although he was named in the final squad of 15 in 2015 Cricket World Cup, he was mostly used as a substitute fielder to Daniel Vettori.[32] In 2015, McCullum announced he will retire from all forms of cricket at the end on the 2015/16 Southern Hemisphere summer season.[2] He was not named in the Sri Lankan ODI series due to his back issues, so his ODI career is over, but he was named in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. His last international match was against Bangladesh on 26 March 2016. He got out for first ball nought for Mustafizur Rahman as his fifth victim for T20I fifer. However, in bowling, McCullum took the wicket of Sabbir Rahman, which was his last international wicket as well. New Zealand finally won the match by 75 runs.[33]

Association football

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Prior to concentrating on his cricketing career, McCullum played association football as a striker for Caversham AFC, winning the team's golden boot award in 1999 by scoring 19 goals in the FootballSouth Premier League.[10] He scored two goals for the club in the 2003 New Zealand National Soccer League, at that time New Zealand's premier club league competition. He left the club in 2004, playing briefly with Mosgiel before turning his sporting attention completely to cricket.[34] In 2017, he debuted for Auckland division 2 team, Ellerslie Diamonds, pulling his hamstring within minutes.

Career best performances

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Batting Bowling (innings)
Score Fixture Venue Season Figures Fixture Venue Season
One Day International 65 New Zealand v Pakistan Auckland 2011 3/24 New Zealand v South Africa Mirpur 2011
Twenty20 International 36 not out New Zealand v Sri Lanka Lauderhill 2010 4/16 New Zealand v Pakistan Hamilton 2010
First-class 106 not out Otago v Northern Districts Hamilton 2008 6/90 New Zealand A v India A Chennai 2008
List A 119 Otago v Wellington Queenstown 2014 5/39 Otago v Central Districts Palmerston North 2011
Twenty 20 76 not out Otago v Canterbury Dunedin 2009 4/16 New Zealand v Pakistan Hamilton 2010

References

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  1. ^ "Nathan McCullum Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Nathan McCullum to quit international cricket at end of NZ season". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  3. ^ "New Zealand pick spin trio for World T20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  4. ^ "This New Zealand side has an openness to learn". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Nathan McCullum: Nine interesting things to know about the New Zealand all-rounder". Cricket Country. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Nathan McCullum and his family put down roots in 'regeneration' community". Stuff. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  7. ^ MCCULLUM'S FINAL INNINGS. SKY TV, retrieved 10 July 2021
  8. ^ Peter, Ashish. "Cricket news: Former New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum striking it big in the construction industry – Sport360 News". sport360.com. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  9. ^ reporters, Stuff sports (27 September 2023). "Brendon McCullum's son Riley added to T20 Black Clash lineup". Stuff. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Mac the pragmatic". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  11. ^ "The brothers in IPL". Cricket Country. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Glamorgan pick up Nathan McCullum". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  13. ^ "County ins & outs 2013". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Lancashire sign Nathan McCullum". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  15. ^ Seconi, Adrian (10 January 2012). "Cricket: McCullum to play game for Sixers". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Sydney Sixers were flawless champions". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Sydney Sixers sizzle to win Champions League T20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Full Scorecard of New Zealand vs South Africa 20th Match, Group E 2007/08 – Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Tuffey and Diamanti in for Champions Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1st Match 2009 – Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Throwback to 2011: When New Zealand let their nasty out". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Nathan McCullum likely to miss first game". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Nathan McCullum admitted to hospital with fever". Stabroek News. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  24. ^ "ICC World Cup 2011: Plucky New Zealand defeat favourites South Africa in a cliffhanger". Cricket Country. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Taylor blitz sets up NZ victory". 9 March 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  26. ^ "ICC World Cup 2011 quarter-final: New Zealand spinners choke South Africa". Cricket Country. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Nathan McCullum steps into Vettori's shoes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 2nd ODI 2013/14 – Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  29. ^ "New Zealand's Nathan McCullum takes the most catches in an ICC Champions Trophy match in 2013". The Indian Express. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Full Scorecard of England vs New Zealand 11th Match, Group A 2013 – Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Full Scorecard of Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 4th Match, Group A 2013 – Score Report". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  32. ^ Puthran, Aayush (3 January 2015). "New Zealand's squad for 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup: Likely 15-member team to be selected". India News, Breaking News. India.com. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  33. ^ "NZ read conditions and rout Bangladesh". ESPNcricinfo. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  34. ^ Meikle, H. (5 August 2010) "Late bloomer has no regret over switching pitches." Otago Daily Times, p.19
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