Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,
At the moment one of the greatest ever feats of New Zealand sporting history is unfolding,
Brendan McCullum is currently waiting (I hope) to come out and bat with an overnight score of 281. No
New Zealander has ever made 300 in a test, the closest is the great Martin Crowe who was run out on
299. The scoring of the 300 would be a monumental achievement on its own but the context in which it
has been scored is what makes the achievement immense: It has been made against one of the world
best test match teams and a country with more than a billion staunch fans (India), New Zealand was
bowled out for 192 in 323 balls in the first innings. When Brendan came in to bat New Zealand were 3
wickets downs for 52 and before he found a solid partner in BJ Watting New Zealand were 5-94. Most
people thought the test would only last three days, New Zealand had blown a great chance to score a se-ries win. But as they say ’cometh the hour cometh the man’.
To score 100 runs is a feat all cricketers aspire to, it requires skill, determination, patience,
resilience and self belief. To do it under the pressure that ’B Mac’ did is amazing, to then (hopefully)
score two more centuries defies belief.
I think that whether you are a cricket follower or not in this instant is irrelevant, few of us are mountain
climbers but we all admired Sir Edmond Hillary’s feats. The important thing to
remember about this great sporting action is that it was done by a man who tool the mantel of leadership
seriously and battled hard, not for personal glory, but for his team mates and country.
As Kipling wrote
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, …. If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds
worth of distance run—yours is the earth and everything that’s in it, and what is more—you’ll be a man my
son!
Have a great week
Mike Brosnahan