Praising Brendon McCullum for his aggressive style of leadership, Kiwi pacer Tim Southee feels that the New Zealand captain has set a new benchmark in world cricket for others to follow.
"He's changed the game and other teams are trying to be as attacking as Brendon has been. He's, sort of, set a standard as captain to follow. Others are trying to emulate what Brendon is doing, his aggressive mindset," the 26-year-old pacer said in an interaction with PTI.
Southee, who grabbed 15 wickets from 9 matches in the World Cup in which his country finished runners-up to tournament co-hosts Australia, credited McCullum for taking Kiwi cricket to greater heights.
"Probably the reason why New Zealand cricket is where it's today is through his captaincy, his aggressive nature and the way he manages players. His man management is outstanding. The attacking mindset that he brings in is probably the reason why we are where we are today," said Southee.
With their stupendous run in the World Cup, New Zealand jumped eight places in the world one-day rankings and are currently lying third behind champions Australia and 2011 winners India in the pecking order.
Southee, who formed a lethal new ball partnership with left-arm pacer Trent Boult in the 50-over showpiece event in which the latter was the joint highest wicket taker with Australia's Mitchell Starc, said the fast bowling scene in his country looks bright at present.
"I think it's in good state at the moment. A lot of young bowlers coming through and we have got great talent in fast bowling dept at the moment it's bright for a few years yet," said Southee who has taken 6 wickets in 7 games for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
