How aggression pays off for McCullum

There are batsmen with exceptional bat speed, perfect timing and all the rest. And then there's Brendon McCullum. He possesses arguably the fastest hands in world cricket. If there are ways to gauge the speed of the ball after it leaves the bat, it wouldn't surprise me if the ball when hit by McCullum leaves faster than it arrived - and I'm talking about the fastest bowlers in the world.

It's one thing to bring your bat down in time and use the pace of the ball when the bowler is bowling fast and quite another to generate pace of your own while playing a fast bowler.

McCullum has quick feet to match his quick hands. Against spin you want to wait for the ball to leave the bowler's hand before dancing down the track (also, you can afford to), so that the spinner doesn't alter his line or length too much. But there's no such luxury against pace: once the fast bowler sees you step out, he has a few options. He can either shorten the length - to the extent of bowling a bouncer, or he can bowl fuller into the body, or do something else.

The trick to stepping out against spin is to get as close to the pitch of the ball as possible. It's important to meet the ball on the move to create momentum for big hits. But getting to the pitch of the ball is not possible against pace, and so the endeavour should be to form a stable base before the ball arrives. It's nearly impossible to play an aggressive shot against pace while the body is still on the move. In fact, most batsmen who use their feet against pace are prepared for the bowler to shorten the length, and so are ready to bring the flat-bat shots into play. When you bowl fuller to these batsmen, they end up defending awkwardly because they don't account for a full ball while stepping out. But McCullum steps out so often that bowlers don't always drag the ball short; they try other options. That's where his exceptional skills come to the fore. He has the rare ability to get under balls that are pitched full. And while batsmen usually have both hands close together on the bat, McCullum keeps his hands slightly apart, which allows him to use the bottom hand to scoop full deliveries over cover.

Is there a way to keep him quiet? Well, cricketing wisdom would suggest that you bowl full, looking for swing, both in- and outswing, for McCullum is extremely strong square of the wicket with his flat-batted shots. Also, since he's an opener it's almost impossible to set a field for short-pitched deliveries, because if you target his ribcage with fine leg and square leg back, sooner rather than later you will err in line or he will make room to hit over the crowded off-side circle. Even if he's hitting you off the front foot, it's wise to still bowl full, with the option to bowl a bouncer once in a while.

In addition to his attacking mindset as a batsman, McCullum has been exceptional in the field as a captain. In fact, he is easily the most attacking captain in this tournament. The overriding theme of his captaincy is the intent to take wickets. He will put in as many as three slips against a new batsman if the ball is new and swinging. He will have fielders inside the circle to save singles and not to fulfil the requirements of having a certain number of fielders inside the circle either. He will make bowling changes in order to take wickets and not kill the middle overs.

He hasn't let the game drift in any of New Zealand's matches so far. And the best part is that he isn't stubborn as a captain, for he's happy to rethink his plans if they aren't working. Against David Warner he started with fine leg inside the circle and the square-leg fielder on the fence, but when he realised the ploy wasn't working, he changed it completely to bowling fuller slightly outside off.

His attacking approach is contagious. In the field he'll give everything he has to save a run and his team is seen following suit. New Zealand are the only team where everyone including fast bowlers (in the middle of a spell) dives to convert a half-chance into a wicket. The thought of "what if I drop it" doesn't seem to cross the mind of this New Zealand team.

There doesn't seem to be a negative bone in McCullum's body, and his approach is making New Zealand punch above their weight. And that makes them top favourites to win the World Cup for the first time.