
The Volts' twenty20 captain will retire from international cricket at the end of this season to spend more time with his young family in Auckland, but he might continue to play domestically for Otago.
McCullum, who is in New Plymouth preparing for his team's domestic twenty20 preliminary final against the Auckland Aces tomorrow night, told the Otago Daily Times continuing to play the shortest form of the game was an option.
‘‘I'm going to continue to go with these guys in the meantime and international cricket over summer,'' he said.
‘‘We will assess things as we go. But I wouldn't rule out continuing to play for Otago next year in the twenty20.''The 35-year-old would be more than welcome back.
He led the Volts to six wins from nine completed matches - last week's match against Auckland was abandoned without a ball bowled - enough to see them qualify for the playoffs as the top seed.
That earned the Volts a lifeline, meaning a win against Auckland tomorrow night will put them straight into Sunday's final, while a loss would require a win against Canterbury on Saturday to reach the decider.
‘‘It's good to be able to finish on top and have that ability to have that back-up plan,'' McCullum said.
‘‘Things have been going well for us and we're keen to keep it rolling on and we're excited for the weekend.''
McCullum's measly bowling is a big reason why the Volts qualified top.
He has taken 12 wickets - tied for fourth-most in the competition - at an average of 16.41.
In a form of the game where bat generally dominates ball, his economy rate reads an impressive 5.62.
No bowler who has bowled more than 30 balls in the competition can beat that. However, fellow spinner Anaru Kitchen has also been stingy, conceding just 6.37 runs an over.
Volts paceman Warren Barnes has also taken 12 wickets, while seamer Sam Wells has 11 scalps to his name.
McCullum is pleased with the way his bowling unit has operated this season, and was also impressed with the way Otago has gone about its work in the field.
‘‘I've always been a big advocate of being one of the best fielding sides in the competition,'' he said.
‘‘It goes a long way to winning the competition, and one of the things that we have kept a close eye on is how we're tracking in the field and making sure we are taking every opportunity and being aggressive in the field.
‘‘I think that's been a big factor in where we are, and obviously the batting and bowling has come good as well.''The Volts lost by one run the last time they played the Aces.
Chasing Auckland's 156 for nine in Auckland last month, the Volts were well on their way to chasing down the total after Kitchen blasted 45 from 22 at the top of the order.
However, a string of wickets, including the run out of Michael Bracewell for 24, derailed the chase and ultimately saw the Volts fall short. ‘‘We have learnt a lot from this competition,'' McCullum said.
‘‘At times we have had a couple of hiccups, and that was one of them, but we learnt from it and moved on.''McCullum was involved when the Volts last won the competition, in the 2012-13 season, and is confident his side will be in good shape to win it all again if it takes its regular-season form to New Plymouth.
Other than Brad Wilson, who has been added to the squad, coach Nathan King has named an unchanged group for the weekend.