Cricket: McCullum talks up brother's role

Brendon McCullum has no problem pouring heavy expectation on his older brother during New Zealand's three-pronged Super Eight phase of the Twenty20 cricket world championship.

Offspinner and hard-hitting lower-order batsman Nathan McCullum was a standout performer in pool defeats of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the West Indies, claiming man-of-the-match honours in both.

The 29-year-old was also impressive in the warmup matches, with spin bowling well suited to the slow pitch in Guyana.

Batting conditions are likely to improve in Barbados for New Zealand's matches against South Africa tomorrow morning (NZT) and Pakistan on Sunday, along with Tuesday's fixture against England in St Lucia.

However, Brendon McCullum doubted that would dull Nathan's influence.

"He's a vital member of the team at the moment in this form of the game and in this country. Certainly the role he has to play is going to play a big part in our ability to progress through the tournament," Brendon said.

"I'm pleased for him, I know how hard he works and I know how much he loves playing for New Zealand. To see him get the performances he has in the last two games ... is no easy feat."

Captain and fellow-spinner Daniel Vettori must decide whether to retain Nathan McCullum's new ball role against quality opponents.

Allrounder Scott Styris has also emerged as a key figure, more with his medium-paced cutters than the bat, much to his own surprise.

Styris admitted rolling the arm over had become more of an afterthought in the latter part of his career.

"I'd like to think I know what I'm doing with the ball, it's pretty basic and simple," he told Radio Sport.

"What bowling I do is more just ticking over (in training) and making sure the body is used to it. I certainly don't put in the level of training that the other boys do."

Styris was unsure how much influence his bowling would have during the Super Eight stage.

"From what we can understand, Barbados is very similar (to Guyana) so hopefully that will suit us," he said.

"It might get a little bit slow but it will be back to more to the usual hitting the holes. Relying on yorker lengths and your variations and bouncers.

"St Lucia looks to be the best batting venue of the three that we play at, therefore it's not going to turn too much. They're three very different venues and we have to make sure we read the conditions right each time."

Styris was unconcerned at the simple nature of the seven-wicket, rain-affected defeat of Zimbabwe, believing extended periods of practice had the New Zealanders honed for the challenges ahead.

"It would have been nice to have the full 20 overs batting with a bit of pressure on," he said.

"But we're out most days having a hit and all the practice facilities are very similar to what we're getting.

"We hit the ground now with five games in three days, including today, so there's not much time for training any more, we're straight into it."

Styris wouldn't nominate who posed the greatest challenge from here, with all eight seeded teams having qualified through group play. Australia, India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies comprise the other half of the Super Eight draw.

"The shorter the game, the more of a coin toss it is and the more ability one player has to win the game," he said.

"There's no reason to fear anybody else because they can have an off day because they have to play cricket at such a high level anyway.

"To win this tournament, we'll probably have to play six of the eight top teams anyway so what order you face them and who they are, it doesn't really matter."

- NZPA