New Zealand's Most Important Player at the 2015 Cricket World Cup

Even among New Zealand's talented 15-man World Cup squad, the name of their inspirational skipper, Brendon McCullum, stands out as the man to watch.

Perhaps second only to Adam Gilchrist historically, in terms of wicketkeeper-batsmen, the 33-year-old clears the bars when he comes out to bat and often clears the ropes too, on multiple occasions.

Let's see what makes him so special and why New Zealand need him to perform over the next few weeks if they are to go all the way in the 2015 ICC World Cup.

McCullum's ODI Statistics

Matches: 240

Innings: 209

Runs: 5480

Not Outs: 28

Average: 30.27

Highest Score: 166

Strike Rate: 91.73

Catches/stumpings: 253/15

His Batting Skills

McCullum’s powerful stroke play and ultra-aggressive—almost Virender Sehwag-esque—approach with the bat easily makes him one of the most dangerous hitters in the world.

After emerging on the international scene in 2002, it took the Dunedin-born hitter a while before he proved himself at the top level, but that is clearly without doubt now.

As evidenced by his stunning 158 in the first-ever Indian Premier League game. Or his 116 against the Aussies in a 2010 Twenty20 International (see video). Or his incredible 195 off 134 balls in a 2014 Test match against Pakistan, etc.

His array of big innings have been built on a full range of shots all-round the wicket, but as well as his brutal rope-clearing efforts, he is also capable of subtlety and improvisational shots such as this.

Quite simply, the longer McCullum can hang around, the faster the scoreboard is going to tick over, and the faster the opposition's chances of winning diminish.

His Astute Captaincy

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Currently the only triple-format captain in international cricket, McCullum took over the reins from Ross Taylor in controversial circumstances three years ago but hasn't looked back.

Fears that the additional responsibility would impact his production proved to be unfounded, and the extra workload has arguably spurred him on to greater things.

A string of huge scores have come from his flashing blade of late, including the first-ever Test triple-century by a Kiwi, in a year which he posted a stunning Test average of over 72.

From a team point of view, New Zealand haven't lost a Test series since a 2013 tour of England under McCullum's watch. 

Perhaps more pertinently, their 50-over form has gradually improved, and with the World Cup fast approaching, they've won five of their last six ODIs.

McCullum's adventurous captaincy style, willingness to take risks and acute tactical awareness has even led Mike Selvey of the Guardian to call him: "The outstanding captain in world cricket at the moment"

Can he prove this on the biggest stage with the rest of the world watching?

Great Fielder

Although McCullum began life as a wicketkeeper-batsmen, following in the footsteps of Gilchrist and Alec Stewart as essentially being an all-rounder these days—due to the wear and tear on his body—he has all but hung up his gloves.

But as they say, when one door closes, another opens. His incredible agility and safe pair of hands at slip or in the circle has actually strengthened the Black Caps in the field.

Summary

So, despite the potent presence of Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult and Adam Southee—to name but a few—McCullum remains New Zealand's most dangerous weapon.

His inspirational presence on and off the pitch and calming demeanour glues the whole side together. 

And if he can produce a few of those innings, who is to say that the Black Caps won't be lifting the trophy at the MCG on the 29 March?