Cumming on strong: McCullum must open

Unequivocal: Otago captain Craig Cumming.

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CRAIG CUMMING was unequivocal, Brendon McCullum must open the batting in one-day cricket. And he was saying that on Friday, hours before McCullum made his Otago captain look like a true soothsayer.

When McCullum returns to the Otago outfit captained by Cumming this season, a batting order top-heavy with openers will be adjusted to accommodate a rare talent, who has been the subject of plenty of debate as to where he should bat for the New Zealand side.

"There will be no debates, that's where he's batting for us," Cumming said ahead of the opening round of domestic cricket this week.

"There are only so many players in the world who can do what Brendon does. If Brendon is secure and confident in the role you will get the most out of him."

Cumming takes the view that openers are there to win one-day games by making big scores in a hurry, not by hanging around and making run-a-ball 40s and 50s.

"I look at it this way: if your top order batters can win one out of 10 games for you, you've got five top order batters so that's five wins out of 10.

"If Brendon can win one or two games out of every 10 for the national team that's the most important thing. It might mean six or eight failures but if he's winning games that's what matters.

"My philosophy on one day cricket is that it's about winning; you can have a guy who averages 40 but often they don't actually win you games. I'd rather have a guy who makes a couple of hundred and eight ducks but as long as you win when he makes those two hundreds that's most important thing.

"In the case of Brendon, there's only so many guys who can do what he does; if you want someone to get 50 off 50 balls you may as well pick me.

"I can understand the argument behind batting at No7 but when he's confident and secure and shown confidence by people he will give you the rewards and I know he's been working hard to do that."

If Cumming's other predictions are as accurate, he will win the toss a few times this summer.

WITH MCCULLUM out of the mix until the home series against Pakistan finishes in mid-December, there's a chance for 20-year-old Hamish Rutherford to shine for the Volts.

The son of former New Zealand opener Ken Rutherford is being touted as a great young talent but Cumming is wary of putting too much pressure on him. "He's only 20 and there's nothing worse than living in the shadow of a father and trying to compete with that," said the skipper.

"He's completely different to his father in that he's a lefthander. And while Ken, when he was going well, was a strokemaker, Hamish is more orthodox but he's a crisp striker of the ball and he hits to good areas.

"His biggest challenge is going to be living up to that expectation and playing consistently. If he can win us at least one game directly through his performance, he has done his job this season."

While Rutherford might open in the one-dayers until McCullum comes back, he will bat down the order in the four-day game, where, if you put a literal interpretation on things, Otago is the defending champion.

The last time the Plunket Shield was contested, Otago won it in 1975. Since then the competition has been sponsored. But without a sponsor for this season, New Zealand Cricket has wisely reinstated a great trophy.

Cumming is hoping Otago can transfer its recent one-day dominance into the four-day arena this summer.

Otago has reached five finals in the past three-years, winning the Twenty20 tournament last season but losing its 50-over crown to Northern Districts.

"The four day game is where we haven't done well – we've had the team to do well but we've had trouble taking 20 wickets for whatever reason."

Cumming was hopeful the winning mentality that has been evident in "coloured clothing" will translate to when they're wearing whites.

"In the last three or four years we've created a successful era after a pretty ordinary 10 or so years."When I came to Otago there wasn't any focus on making finals and the culture wasn't set up to do well. Now the systems and the culture are set up to succeed and players who come in are expected to do well and to win."

With the Black Caps available for the bulk of the summer, including all of January, Cumming was hopeful cricket would attract big crowds.

"The product this year looks like it's going to be the best it's been in a few years. We want people to talk about cricket in the same way they've talked about the Air New Zealand Cup in rugby, and especially down here where cricket has become the premier sport at the moment."

- © Fairfax NZ News