Former Black Caps skipper lists three Australians as his four toughest bowlers to face, with one of them a surprising selection
McCullum names his toughest opponents
Three Australians feature among the toughest bowlers former New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum has played against.
McCullum made a career out of dismantling bowling attacks but in his international retirement has revealed who troubled him the most with bat in hand.
"Murali (Sri Lanka champion Muthiah Muralidaran) was always, for me, incredibly difficult to face, mainly because you had no idea which way it was spinning," McCullum told Star Sports.
"Brad Hogg, as well, because of his uncanny bowling action and his ability to turn it both ways.
Image Id: ~/media/F80644D388D64F4E926ACAF693D3D64E Image Caption: Hoggy celebrates B-Mac's wicket during 2007 World Cup // Getty"I think Brett Lee when he was in his pomp. He was fast, wasn't he?
"And probably Mitchell Starc too of more recent times."
Muralidaran played four Tests against McCullum, dismissing the Kiwi on four occasions – twice in the Wellington Test of 2006 and twice more in the Colombo Test three years later. Three of the four dismissals were bowled.
McCullum was Starc's maiden Test wicket on debut in Brisbane in 2011. But in four other Tests, the Australian removed him only once.
Lee played two Tests against McCullum for the one dismissal, while Hogg never bowled to the Black Caps blitzkrieg at Test level.
However, it's in one-day cricket where McCullum's fearsome foursome did the damage.
In 20 one-day internationals, Lee outed McCullum five times, the second-most by any bowler, with India's left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan leading the way with six dismissals.
McCullum feel four times to Muralidaran (16 matches) and Hogg (18 matches).
And Starc, he claimed McCullum's wicket only once – for a duck in the opening over of the 2015 World Cup final.
Image Id: ~/media/7D462124ADF14D9DBDB33196DF11238A Image Caption: Starc bowls McCullum in 2015 World Cup finalWhile those four men have undoubtedly caused some headaches for McCullum, they were not the most successful bowlers against him in Test cricket.
England pair Monty Panesar (nine matches) and Stuart Broad (12), and South Africa paceman Dale Steyn (10) each dismissed McCullum on six occasions in the five-day format.
But the 34-year-old from Otago won't be remembered for his issues against a handful of skilful bowlers.
His legacy lies in his explosive his exploits wielding the willow, right to the end when he carved the fastest Test century in history in his final international appearance.