New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said that a draw was a fair result after rain washed out the final day of the second Test with Bangladesh on Friday, ending the two-match series level at 0-0.
‘We wanted to win this Test series, and we were expected to do so as well. If we strip it right back, we played good cricket in this series. Our batting was outstanding, our bowling stood up in tough conditions,’ the Black Caps skipper said at the post-match briefing at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
‘I think a drawn series is a fair reflection because Bangladesh played some excellent cricket as well.
‘We tried to force a result in Chittagong but the wicket was too good and both batting line-ups batted well,’ McCullum said of his team’s efforts to chase a win in the series.
‘We lost nearly two days in rain here [in Dhaka]. We could have put them under more pressure yesterday [Thursday], but they stood up.
‘We knew that Bangladesh were going to be tough proposition at home. To come straight out of our winter and play against a spin-dominant bowling line-up and [one] very skilled at playing in these conditions, we are pleased with how we have gone in this series.
‘We didn’t get the results but we gave ourselves some opportunities. If it wasn’t for the weather, who knows how the [second] Test would have panned out?’
After the series, New Zealand remain winless in Tests since McCullum took over as captain from Ross Taylor in December last year and will have one more opportunity – a three-match home series against the West Indies in December – to pick up their first win in 2013.
‘It is always hard to chase Test victories. We put ourselves in positions this year where we should have gone on to win Tests,’ McCullum said.
‘You’d probably look at our Test summer and say we have played pretty good cricket. Wins is obviously what we are judged on, but with the consistency, which is the first step, we have started to tick that box. The next stage is obviously to get some in the win column.’
With results hard to come by, the focus has intensified on McCullum’s own form with the bat. The former wicketkeeper, a senior presence on a relatively inexperienced team, has averaged just 29.64 runs in nine matches and 15 innings this year, with four fifties and no hundreds.
‘I am not satisfied with my own performance. I wanted to contribute through this Test series. That’s the nature of cricket sometimes. Thankfully other guys in the line-up got runs. I was delighted from a team point of view.
‘It’s been a while, but I haven’t scored too many centuries anyway,’ he said of his century drought, which dates back to November 2010, when he scored 225 against India in Hyderabad.
‘I want to contribute as a batsman to create results
and set up an improving culture. I can certainly try and score runs, but that’s how it goes.’
McCullum also praised Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque, who claimed the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards with scores of 47 and 126 not out in the second Test, following his 181 in Chittagong.
‘He has a nice demeanour at the crease; he’s very quiet and unassuming, goes about compiling runs. He’s started his Test career well and seems suited to subcontinent conditions.
‘He’s a real prospect for Bangladesh and he’ll get all the accolades he deserves because he’s a standout performer.’
McCullum and New Zealand will now turn their focus on the three-match One-Day International series, which begins on Tuesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
‘Really looking forward to the series, and the competition we have had. It would be great to contribute in that series,’ the Kiwi captain concluded.
-With New Age input
