Wellington: Former England cricket captain Mike Atherton Tuesday said New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and Australia's Michael Clarke are the best equipped skippers for the demands of the World Cup in the Antipodes starting Saturday.

Michael Clarke

Atherton, writing his regular column for The Times newspaper in England, has no doubt that bold approaches will be rewarded at this World Cup.

He said the game is evolving faster than ever, pointing to the "astonishing" 31-ball century by South African AB de Villiers as a wake-up call to team tacticians ahead of the tournament.