Hesson hopes McCullum won’t quit ODIs

2015 World Cup

Cricket365
April 2, 2015

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson is not eager for any of his players to hang up their boots in the wake of the World Cup, even though he knows a few will, but really hopes Brendon McCullum sticks around.

Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills are generally thought to be retiring from ODIs in the near future, though without any confirmations yet, while McCullum could also look to preserve his TEst career by giving up the format.

Hesson said: "I won't be twisting anyone's arm (to retire). I think it's important to have people who really want to play. I have no doubt we'll find out in the next wee while who those (players) are."

McCullum led his side to their first ever World Cup final, where they lost to Australia by seven wickets. But they were unbeaten until that point, and Hesson feels McCullum was invaluable to the effort.

The coach added of his skipper: "He's huge for us, he sets the tone, the guys love to play for him, so I certainly hope he's around.

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm not even contemplating it, to be fair.

"Now is the time just to reflect on the World Cup and in due course we'll look at the future."

B-Mac, for his part, didn't want to discuss any retirements, rather looking to take a step back for a few days and let the Aussies celebrate in the spotlight after their record fifth title win.

McCullum: "There may be guys within our group who will retire. We'll let the dust settle on this final and we certainly won't look to grab any headlines in the next couple of days, because they belong to Australia and they've earned the right to do so.

"We'll be gracious in defeat, and then we'll work out a plan in the next couple of days for some guys who may look to retire. But I think it's the right thing to allow Australia to bask in the glory of their success."