TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016 SPORTS Door is shut on Pietersen return: Morgan JOHANNESBURG: England limited-overs series, and the batsman has returned some regularly said he still wants to play for third-highest scorer in Australia’s Big Bash first series victory over the South Africans in captain Eoin Morgan quashed speculation impressive performances in the South African England. “Interesting he’s saying it’s HIS call! League. His teams made the final in both more than a decade. The ODI team is looking that Kevin Pietersen might be recalled for the and Australian T20 leagues. Very interesting! Hmmmmm...!” Pietersen tournaments. His success in the shortest for- good in South Africa, too, with a 2-0 lead in World Twenty20, saying “that door is com- But speaking to British newspaper The tweeted yesterday. Pietersen was the second- mat prompted suggestions England might the five-match series ahead of the third game pletely shut” for the country’s leading run- Daily Mail from England’s tour of South highest runscorer in South Africa’s Ram Slam re-think its position with Pietersen and con- on Tuesday. scorer in all formats. Africa, Morgan said: “That door is completely late last year, with 401 from just seven games sider recalling him. Morgan said it would not The World T20 in India starts on March 8. Pietersen has become a T20 specialist shut. Kevin will not be picked. That’s from at an average of 80.20. Quinton de Kock, the happen. England appears to have moved on England is in a group with defending cham- since his acrimonious departure from the me.” Morgan’s comments prompted a top runscorer, made 437 runs but played 11 from Pietersen anyway, sealing a 2-1 test pion Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and England setup following the 2013-14 Ashes response on Twitter from Pietersen, who has games. The 35-year-old Pietersen was the series win in South Africa last month for its a fifth team that’s still to qualify. — AP McCullum ends one-day career with strong legacy CHRISTCHURCH: Brendon McCullum’s with four half centuries. But it was the one-day international career ended yes- speed at which he scored, at a strike rate terday with a 55-run win over Australia at of 188.50, that got crowds gasping, none Seddon Park, though the legacy of the more so than his 25-ball 77 against aggressive right-hander is likely to have a England in Wellington. much longer effect on the sport in New McCullum had asked New Zealand to Zealand. ‘dare to believe’ and that innings in the The New Zealand captain, who made third game of the tournament got the his debut against Australia at the Sydney country unequivocally behind the side, Cricket Ground in January, 2002, is retir- believing they could be witnessing a ing from all internationals after the sec- once-in-a-lifetime event for the co-hosts. ond test against Steve Smith’s side in Since being forced to make his retire- Christchurch. ment announcement due to the timing His retirement will leave a hole at the of the World Twenty20 squad selections, top of New Zealand’s batting order in he has been greeted by enthusiastic limited-overs matches, while it could also crowds throughout the Australian one- change the way they approach games in day series, lauding his contribution to future. The right-hander’s rip, snort and the game. bust approach with his superb eye and At last week’s series opener in lightning bat speed that enabled him to Auckland, a school day, several young- hit through the line, particularly through, sters alerted their teachers they had or over, the cover field or down the played truant with a sign that read “I ground electrified crowds. should be at scool”. When the mood took him, he could Yesterday McCullum was flanked by a be so destructive that games were lost, guard of honour from the Australians. His or won, before he was dismissed. first four scoring shots were boundaries One such game at Queenstown and his third six, a casual flick off Scott against Bangladesh in late 2007 was typi- Boland over mid-wicket was his 200th in cal. Having dismissed the visitors for 93, one-day internationals. He is just the McCullum then blasted 80 from 28 balls. fourth player to hit 200 one-day sixes but New Zealand won the game in six the only one to have 100 in test cricket as overs and television commentators joked well. He hit his sixth boundary off he had finished the game so quickly Mitchell Marsh in the 10th over when he because he had booked a tee time at a guided the ball to the vacant third man nearby golf course during the change of boundary but was dismissed on the next HAMILTON: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, bottom center, holding the Hadlee Chappell trophy poses for a photo with his teammates after they won the innings. ball for 47 with New Zealand 84-1. series over Australia in the 3rd One Day International Cricket match at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday. — AP The innings typified his career. His LEGACY approach more often than not paid off His biggest legacy, however, may be and at times when reining in his instincts Toe catch gives NZ the way in which his personal approach could have been more beneficial, which has been transferred to the side, whose told in his statistics. attacking style since he assumed the He ended his career after 260 matches captaincy in late 2012 have been entic- with a strike rate of 96.37, the sixth high- ing crowds back to the game. est amongst batsmen who have scored series over Australia That was evident at last year’s World more than 2000 ODI runs. Cup, where McCullum’s bristling aggres- However, his all-out attack meant he sion helped drive New Zealand to their scored just 6083 runs at an average of HAMILTON: A bizarre off-the-toe catch by Matt first final. 30.41, with five centuries and 32 half cen- Henry brought a fairytale end to Brendon SCOREBOARD He scored 328 runs in nine innings turies. — Reuters McCullum’s ODI career when New Zealand beat Australia by 55 runs in Hamilton yesterday. The vic- tory in a game that was in Australia’s favour until HAMILTON, New Zealand: Completed scoreboard in the third and final ODI between New Henry’s dismissal of Mitchell Marsh, saw McCullum Zealand and Australia in Hamilton yesterday: end his limited overs career with a 2-1 series win New Zealand Australia over the world champions and the Chappell- M. Guptill c Hastings b Zampa 59 U. Khawaja c Ronchi b Bracewell 44 Hadlee Trophy. Australia, set a target of 247, had B. McCullum c Hastings b Marsh 47 D. Warner c Elliott b Henry 16 their tails up when they needed 83 off the last 16 K. Williamson b Boland 18 S. Smith lbw Sodhi 21 overs with five wickets in hand and Marsh, their H. Nicholls c Smith b Hazlewood 18 G. Bailey b Henry 33 match-winner in Sunday’s second tie, in full flight. G. Elliott c Maxwell b Marsh 50 G. Maxwell c McCullum b Sodhi 0 But the momentum swung back in New C. Anderson c Khawaja b Boland 27 M. Marsh c&B Henry 41 Zealand’s favour when a Henry delivery edged off L. Ronchi c Boland b Marsh 5 M. Wade c Guptill b Milne 17 Marsh’s bat, on to his foot, and rebounded back to D. Bracewell b Hastings 2 J. Hastings c Elliott b Anderson 6 the bowler. The umpire turned down an appeal A. Milne lbw Boland 5 A. Zampa c McCullum by Anderson 2 from Henry. But when the replay on the big screen M. Henry not out 0 confirmed what Henry suspected the umpires J. Hazlewood not out 5 I. Sodhi b Hastings 0 S. Boland run out (Nicholls) 2 called for an official review which showed the ball Extras (lb6, w9) 15 Extras: (lb2, w2) 4 had not touched the ground and a clearly angry Total (10 wickets; 45.3 overs) 246 Total: (10 wickets; 43.4 overs) 191 Marsh was out. Fall of wickets: 1-84 (McCullum), 2-123 Australian captain Steve Smith ultimately (Williamson), 3-131 (Guptill), Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Warner), 2-75 (Khawaja), backed the dismissal but there were questions over 4-171 (Nicholls), 5-223 (Anderson), 6-237 3-94 (Smith), 4-94 (Maxwell), 5-153 (Bailey), 6- whether the review would have been called had (Ronchi), 7-237 (Elliott), 8-246 164 (Marsh), 7-179 (Hastings), 8-184 (Wade), 9- there not been a loud crowd reaction to the replay (Milne), 9-246 (Bracewell), 10-246 (Sodhi) 184 (Zampa), 10-191 (Boland) on screen. “The right decision was made. He was Bowling: Hazlewood 10-0-45-2 (w1), Hastings Bowling: Henry 10-1-60-3, Milne 8.4-0-42-1, out. There was no doubt about that,” Smith said. 7.3-0-42-2 (w1), Boland Anderson 6-1-16-2 (w1), Bracewell 6-0-15-1 “I think Mattie Henry sort of thought there was 9-0-59-2 (w1), Marsh 6-0-34-3 (w1), Zampa 10- (w1), Sodhi 8-0-31-2, Elliott 5-0-25-0. a little something and it wasn’t until we saw some- 0-45-1, Maxwell 3-0-15-0 (w1) Result: New Zealand by 55 runs.