“Brendon is a damaging player and he can take the game away from you if you bowl poorly to him in the first 10 overs”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Australia opener Aaron Finch has admitted that New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is someone the Baggy Greens will “have to worry about” when they face each other on February 28 in Auckland.

Finch’s comments come after McCullum broke the record for the fastest half-century in World Cup history during his side’s eight-wicket win over England on February 20.

“He (McCullum) is pretty brutal when he’s on,” Finch was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “He’s someone we’ll have to worry about. When you’ve got Kane Williamson who is playing beautifully as well, he sets up their innings and they’re able to bat around him.

“So Brendon is a damaging player and he can take the game away from you if you bowl poorly to him in the first 10 overs. That’s one thing we’ve got to make sure we’re doing, is be right on from ball one otherwise you do get hurt. We’ve got a few plans so we’ll wait and see how it goes.”

Finch was also impressed with New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee’s performance against England since he finished with a career-best 7-33 off nine overs.

“He (Southee) bowled brilliantly, everything went his way the other day,” Finch said.

However, Finch also believes that New Zealand will be under more pressure during their match on February 28 since it is being played in their backyard.

“I think all the pressure is going to be on New Zealand [given] the way that they’ve been playing and [since they are playing] here in New Zealand as well,” he said.