Popeye’ McCullum gets all-clear after Johnson arm ball

New Zealand are confident that captain Brendon McCullum will be fit for next Sunday’s World Cup clash against Afghanistan despite taking a nasty blow on his left arm from Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson. McCullum hit a quick fire 50 in Saturday’s tension-packed one-wicket win over the four-time champions at Eden Park, but needed lengthy treatment on his swollen forearm. However, coach Mike Hesson expects McCullum to be fit for the remainder of the pool stage matches even though the Black Caps have already made sure of their place in the quarter-finals. “It’s pretty swollen at the moment, he looks a bit like Popeye,” Hesson said yesterday. “We’ll make another assessment in a day or so, but all signs are that he will be fine.” New Zealand have fielded the same team for all of their four wins so far leaving remaining squad players, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan and Kyle Mills, kicking their heels. “When you have a week between games, if you leave out some of your key players, it can be two weeks before they play again, which is a long time,” added Hesson. New Zealand faces Afghanistan in Napier next Sunday before completing their group campaign against Bangladesh in Hamilton on March 13. AUCKLAND-NAMPA/AFP