Shock and awe good for our boys

REALITY 1, Hype 0.

Brendon McCullum is one of the few people who can walk away from a four-ball innings and call it a good thing.

But McCullum's view is that the mauling he and his team-mates suffered at the hands of the belligerent in Australians in Wellington on Friday night, is just the shock treatment the Kiwis needed.

"I think it's actually a good thing because we've got that one out of the way," McCullum told the Sunday Star-Times as he rested at home ahead of today's second Twenty20 match in Christchurch.

Much of the pre-match bluster had been about bowling speeds of Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Dirk Nannes. McCullum said that while the Aussie trio dominated round one, the New Zealand batsmen now knew their speed was very real and could adjust.

"When you have three guys bowling at over 150km/h it's about making that jump, not so much technically, but in your mental approach. It's about backing yourself to score runs against those guys.

"It's real now and we've faced it – even though it was only four balls for me – so we can now get on with the series rather than worrying about all the hype about how fast these guys are."

McCullum said the Kiwis would also change their approach to the terrorising trio.

"We played poorly and we realise our attitude to the series has to change. Our plan was to try to starve their strike bowlers of wickets but I don't think you can do that. The way to beat them is to take them on and put them under pressure."

Before the series, experienced players including Shane Bond and Scott Styris, who will come into the team for the one-day series, were talking down the Aussies as being overhyped and capable of being beaten.

"I think Bondy and Scott are right," McCullum said, "it's just that you have to control what you can control and we didn't do that. On Friday, while it was disappointing, we didn't fire a shot. But I don't think it's a bad thing providing we bounce back and steel up a little bit and put some pressure back on them."

Meanwhile, following Sachin Tendulkar's landmark 200 not out in a one-day international against South Africa last week, McCullum has all but ruled out anybody making a double-century in Twenty20 cricket.

McCullum made 158 in his first Indian Premier League season with the Kolkata Knight Riders and cannot imagine scoring faster than that.

"I couldn't go any faster than what I went that night. To score 200 you'd need a special day with all the stars aligned but nothing's impossible I suppose. Even if you faced half the balls, that's 60 balls, so you'd have to score at over three runs a ball."

McCullum then paid his tribute to Tendulkar's world record score.

"I think it's great for the game that he got the world record. No one knew if it [200] was going to fall; they hoped it would but didn't know who would get it and for him to get it is just amazing for game, and especially to do it against such a good attack."

- © Fairfax NZ News