McCullum best Kiwi cricketer

Brendon McCullum has been named New Zealand's cricketer of the year at an awards ceremony in Auckland.

The Black Caps wicketkeeper-batsman also won the Walter Hadlee Trophy for best one-day batsman for the 2007-08 season.

McCullum struck a match-winning innings for Otago in their State Shield final against Auckland earlier this year.

His 170 in 108 balls was the highest score in New Zealand's domestic one-day history, and also the fastest century.

He scored 80 not out off just 28 balls against Bangladesh in the one-day international in Queenstown at the end of last year and added another 80 not out off 47 balls against England in Hamilton.

He capped off his year with a magnificent 158 for the Kolkata Knight Riders to give them a crushing 140-run victory against the Bangalore Royal Challengers as he kicked off the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in style.

His 73-ball onslaught included 13 sixes and 10 fours.

New Zealand selector Dion Nash said McCullum was outstanding at all levels of the game.

"In the domestic and international one-day and Twenty20 competitions he out-performed everyone else," Nash said.

"While his batting was breathtaking at times so were some of the wicketkeeping catches he took.

"During a long and demanding season he retained his extremely high standards throughout, including the Test series against England in England."

Jacob Oram, who has been ruled out of the upcoming tour to Australia with a back problem, won the inaugural JR Reid award for best all-rounder.

Oram beat McCullum and Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori to the prize largely because of the sheer weight of runs he has accumulated this season which included two Test centuries, three one-day half-centuries and two Twenty20 fifties.

He also took 37 first-class wickets at an average of 16.12.

The Walter Hadlee Trophy for best one-day bowler went to Kyle Mills who took 34 one-day wickets this season with a best of five for 27 against South Africa in Durban.

Mills also notched up 22 Test wickets including four for 16 against England in Hamilton in March.

Ross Taylor won the Redpath Cup for best Test batsman, while Chris Martin won the Winsor Cup for best Test bowler.

Sir Richard Hadlee was presented with the Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket.

The domestic cricketer of the year awards for men and women went to Otago's Nathan McCullum and Central's Sara McGlashan respectively and the young cricket of the year was awarded to Kane Williamson who captained the New Zealand Under-19 team to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Malaysia.

 


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