Brendon McCullum

Proud as punch, Riley ocCullum marchs up and asks, “Did you know I’m having a little sister soon?” This is quickly followed by a second question of, it seems, almost equal importance, “Do you know how many pairs of swimming goggles I own?” It’s clear Riley – five years old and full of vim – doesn’t miss a trick. The tousle-haired son of one our country’s most extraordinary cricketers is awaiting his sister’s arrival with great excitement. Now that he’s used to the idea.

“A girl wasn’t his first preference,” admits mum Ellissa, who has been married to Black Cap Brendon ocCullum for seven years. “But he seems to have changed his mind.” And now, adds Brendon with a smile, “He’s looking forward to being the older brother and having a bit of company.”

Brendon (28) and Ellissa (31) are also awaiting this baby’s arrival with much joy, after months of disappointment and heartache. Although, points out Brendon firmly, they don’t like to dwell on the negative and theirs is “a happy story” – there were two miscarriages before this pregnancy “stuck”.

“We had absolutely no trouble actually getting pregnant,” says Ellissa, “but then we found out at the 12-week scan that our first baby had passed away. The second time I miscarried at about six weeks.  ”Because we’d never had anything like this before, the first time I fell pregnant we told quite a few people, including Riley, that a baby was on the way which, in hindsight, might have been the wrong decision.

But Riley was great – he was old enough to understand that something had happened to the baby and he just took it all in his stride.” Determined to keep trying, Brendon and Ellissa sought specialist care in their home town of Christchurch and, before long, they were expecting again. This time, all went smoothly, and they are on track for a July delivery.

“We’re very excited,” says Brendon. “And with the age gap, hopefully Riley will be able to make himself useful.”  ”Although,” adds Ellissa, “he’s not so keen to change dirty nappies.”

Dunedin-raised Brendon says he always dreamed of a big family, but the pressure of spending months away from home as an international cricketer meant he and New South Wales native Ellissa delayed plans to grow their family.

“We decided on a five or six-year gap between babies,” says Ellissa, “mainly because I knew that being on my own with one child was hard enough, let alone managing with two! “Brendon is away for up to about 11 months of the year and although his family is a great help, mine still live in Australia, so there’s not the same level of support from them. Also we felt we were still young enough that time was on our side – a second baby could wait a while.”

With Riley approaching school age, the ocCullums began to seriously think about a new addition. And towards the middle of 2009, Ellissa made a point of travelling with Brendon “to get our family expansion plans underway,” she laughs.

But the early weeks of this pregnancy weren’t without their own complications. “I had a lot of nausea – about 20 weeks of it,” sighs Ellissa. “I pretty much spent three months on the couch. Brendon was away for most of that time and I was too sick to travel. Luckily Brendon’s mum stepped in to help look after Riley, which was great, because I could barely look after myself let alone a boisterous five-year-old.”

There were numerous phone calls to Brendon, playing everywhere from Wellington and Napier to Johannesburgh and Abu Dhabi, soliciting some not-so-useful advice from her loving husband. ”I’d just remind her that there were plenty of women around the world who’d had lots of kids, and that I was sure she’d be just fine,” laughs Brendon, a cheeky glint in his eye.

“But to be fair,” says Ellissa, smiling back, “he would pop home between matches whenever he could. I would  hang out for those days when he’d be here to help out!”

Ellissa, who says she hates surprises and likes to be super organised, decided that she would find out this baby’s gender, just as the couple did when pregnant with Riley. Riley has already given the baby a nickname – the girl’s name Brendon and Ellissa chose when Ellisa was pregnant with him six years ago. But they’re keeping the name under wraps for now. “We’re just starting to think about the names we like,” is all Brendon will offer on the topic. one thing he will confirm is that with fewer cricketing commitments this time around, he’s got a much better chance of being present at the delivery.

It was only because he left a cricketing tour early that Brendon made it home in time to be there for the birth of his first child back in 2004. “He arrived home in the morning and I went into labour that night,” recalls Ellissa. “And then, Riley didn’t come for another 46 hours! I’m really hoping that it doesn’t play out the same way this time and that it’s better managed