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Brendon McCullum
Daniel Vettori has been left as the sole conductor after
a tumultuous week for New Zealand cricket in which coach Andy
Moles was forced to resign and vice-captain Brendon McCullum
demoted.
Moles' resignation was signalled earlier in the week when a
report was leaked to the media which indicated the players
had lost confidence in the former Warwickshire opening
batsman.
But the Black Caps wicketkeeper-batsman's demotion came as a
surprise.
However, it appears to be a symbolic gesture.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan told
the Otago Daily Times McCullum would take over the captaincy
if Daniel Vettori was unable to continue.
"I still believe the intention is, in the event of Daniel
being injured, Brendon will step in as captain, so in that
regard that hasn't changed," Vaughan said.
By relieving McCullum of the vice-captaincy, the selectors
hope he will get on with the job of scoring runs at the top
of the order.
"And also they wanted to send a signal to the other senior
players that they want them to step up to the mark as well."
The Otago player was thrust into the limelight when it was
revealed six leading players had delayed signing their NZC
contracts until they knew how much of the Indian Premier
League they would miss.
Asked if the decision to demote McCullum was related, Vaughan
said there was no connection.
"This is just a standard selection decision . . . end of
story and certainly nothing to do with any issue Brendon has
with NZC or anything of that nature."
McCullum refused to talk to the Otago Daily Times but told
the Herald on Sunday he was disappointed.
"It's disappointing, obviously, in many respects, but the
fact is I can now concentrate on my roles of scoring runs and
keeping wickets.
"I still have some fairly big goals I want to achieve for New
Zealand, including the captaincy, and this has not changed
that."
Vaughan said while all the changes had been unsettling before
the limited-overs series against Pakistan in the United Arab
Emirates, the Black Caps were well-placed to build on the
recent success of reaching the final of the Champions Trophy.
"Let's not forget they have come off a fantastic performance
in South Africa . . .
The fact there won't be a head coach puts the acid on the
senior players, which I think is a good thing.
They're going to have to be self-reliant over there and . . .
let's hope all those things result in producing the goods."
The future for Moles is not so rosy.
He was effectively forced to stand down less than a year into
a three-year contract when negative feedback from some of the
senior players left his position untenable.
He admitted finding another job at the elite level of the
game would be difficult.
