Wellington, Dec 10 : New Zealand's new captain in all formats of the game, Brendon McCullum has hinted he might move down the order in the one-day format due to the recent changes in rules by the International Cricket Council (ICC). This week McCullum will get down to the business of galvanising a team to tour South Africa.

When the focus eventually switches from Ross Taylor''s awful treatment by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to the six-week tour, McCullum''s position in the batting order will be discussed. Initially a No. 7 batsman, McCullum moved up to open in all three formats in 2010 before being shuffled between there and No 3 during Taylor''s captaincy stint.

With key batsman Taylor sitting out the tour, a return to the middle order looks a chance for McCullum whose approach can be exhilarating and infuriating in equal measures. "Maybe with the change of rules in one-day cricket, we may see a change there," Stuff. co. nz quoted McCullum, as saying. "I''ll have to speak with [coach] Mike [Hesson] and other senior players but one-day cricket could see me slip down the order slightly, especially given we have guys who are more than capable of batting at the top as well.

It might just change the balance a wee bit," he added. ODI rule changes include reducing the number of fielders outside the inner circle from five to four during non-powerplay overs, and restricting the batting powerplay to the first 40 overs. McCullum gave it a `wait and see' when asked if he would slip down from the top-three in Twenty20s and Tests. (ANI)