15 Interesting Nathan McCullum facts that you need to know

15 Interesting Nathan McCullum facts that you need to know: The New Zealand cricketer Nathan McCullum is an off-spinning all-rounder. He is regarded as a limited overs specialist player. Nathan has emerged as the leading spinner for the Kiwi side in T20 international cricket and is renowned for his impeccable line and lengths with which he troubles the batsmen. McCullum’s immaculate accuracy with the ball has also earned him many chances in ODI cricket.

Apart from his caliber with the white cherry in hand, he is also a very handy batsman lower down the order and has the ability to clear the ropes in the back-end of the innings. The 35-year-old is very athletic in the field as well and has affected many dismissals which makes him a valuable asset for the side.

Today on the occasion of his 35th Birthday, we list 15 Interesting Nathan McCullum facts that you need to know:

1. Nathan Leslie McCullum was born in Dunedin, Otago on 1st September 1980. Nathan is the son of former Otago representative Stuart McCullum.

2. Nathan McCullum is the elder brother of the Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum.

3. He had attended King’s High School with his younger brother Brendon McCullum. Throughout his career, he has been overshadowed by the brilliance of Brendon McCulllum.

4. He was a very good Football player as well and had played as a striker for Caversham AFC. He has also won the team’s golden boot award in 1999 as he held a tally of 19 goals in the Football South Premier League.

5. He made his first class debut for Otago in the 1999–2000 season while his first List A match came in the 2000–01 season. McCullum played his first T20 match against Canterbury at Christchurch on 13 January 2006.

6. Nathan made his T20I debut for New Zealand against South Africa on 19 September 2007 while he played his 1st ODI match against Sri Lanka on 8 September 2009 at Colombo.

7. McCullum’s breakthrough batting performance came against Pakistan in 2011 at Auckland when he blasted a 50 ball 65 run knock and helped his side to win the match.

8. His most memorable performance in ODIs came against South Africa in the World Cup 2011 Quarter-final match where he scalped 3 wickets for 24 runs in his full-quota of 10 overs and helped his side to win the big match.

9. In the first match of the World T20 2010 against Sri Lanka, the Kiwi side needed 10 runs off the final over against Lasith Malinga with only 3 wickets remaining. But McCullum smacked the winning six off the second last ball of the match to win his side a thriller.

10. Nathan McCullum’s only man of the match performance in ODIs came against Sri Lanka at Cardiff in 2013 where he ended up with figures of 2/23 with the ball while with the bat played a crucial knock of 32 runs.

11. In T20Is, he has won the player of the match award 3 times in his career so far. They came against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Zimbabwe respectively.

12. Overall, in 61 T20I matches he has accumulated 55 wickets at a miserly economy of 6.90 while in ODIs he has grabbed 63 scalps in 84 matches at an economy of 5.

13. He has played T20 franchisee cricket for as many as 7 teams which include the likes of Lancashire, Glamorgan, Pune Warriors India, Sydney Sixers, Otago Volts, St Lucia Zouks and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

14. McCullum has featured in 157 T20 matches and has taken 140 wickets at an economy of 7.32 while he averages 17.20 with the bat and has strike-rate of 126.

15. McCullum has not played in the whites for the Kiwi side yet. He made his debut in international cricket in the year 2007.