If this is goodbye then who would ever want to say hello?
In front of his home crowd, on a lively pitch against an even livelier attack, with his side collapsing, he went out and belted the fastest hundred Test cricket has ever seen.
And so Brendon McCullum ended a career which, latterly, had transformed into a seminal one for New Zealand cricket.
His ton was not short of fortune, not least when he was caught off a no-ball when on 39. Too many to count were the boundaries that came from edges. ESPNcricinfo’s “control” percentage of his innings was as low as 70 per cent.
But it was an honest-to-goodness McCullum innings, played in the fashion that he wants his sides to play in, unfazed by defeat or disaster and always aggressive.
It is unlikely to avoid defeat against the Steve Smith-led Australians, but that will hardly matter: people will remember the innings more than the result.
Richards has done a lot for PSL
Of the many images of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), few have stood out as much as Viv Richards's celebrations.
In particular was the startling leap once Mohammed Nabi had helped Quetta Gladiators chase 202 against Lahore Qalandars.
Richards has been one of the stories of the tournament, an unlikely mentor for the league’s underdog franchise (which they are only in name).
Tale upon tale of his galvanising effect is heard. Pep talks to his teams or one-on-one chats with overawed players in need of confidence.
So prominent has the West Indian legend been that there is serious talk of a similar role with the Pakistan national side.
That will be a different dynamic altogether and, probably, come with greater pressures. But that he has already been of greater benefit than was thought when he first came is not in doubt.
Reality check for England
A pummelling is how it ended.
South Africa, with head Gonzo-batsman AB de Villiers to the fore, hauled down 172 in less than 15 overs. That meant England lost the T20 series 2-0, and had lost the ODI series 3-2, having been two-up.
It does not mean that the fruits of last year have been spoilt but the results are a wake-up call.
England have had every right to feel good about their limited-overs game since the last 50-over World Cup, but they should recognise they are a work in progress.
Most of that work should focus on the bowling.
For all the runs England score, and for all the crazy rates they do it at, it always feels as if their attack is not sturdy or incisive enough to put the opposition out of the game.
It has cost them in South Africa and it may well do in India.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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