AUCKLAND - Combative Australian opener David Warner is looking forward to being insulted by New Zealand fans when the co-hosts meet in the World Cup, saying his team will feed on the fury.
Australia's batsman David Warner is clean bowled off during the Pool A 2015 Cricket World Cup match between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Feb 14, 2015.
Saturday's match at Eden Park is being billed as "the final before the final" as the winner will top Pool A and face a potentially easier opponent from Pool B in the quarter-final.
"I hope they come out and boo us and give us crap, like they always do. That's what's going to happen," Warner said.
"We love it, it gets us up and going. Gets the adrenaline going for sure."
The fact that the Trans-Tasman rivals have not faced each other in a completed one-dayer since Australia's win in the 2011 World Cup in Nagpur also increases the intensity.
"You get some obscure swear words and a couple of things thrown at you, but that's what you expect when you come here," Warner said. "It's happened before.
"It's probably going to happen again."
Since his debut in 2009 Warner has faced New Zealand in only two one-day internationals -- both at home but toured in 2010 for two Twenty20 matches.
Warner admitted the high-flying Black Caps' pace attack will be a tough challenge for him and fellow opener Aaron Finch.
"They will be tough, one hundred per cent, in their conditions," Warner said. "If you get too greedy and you see small boundaries straight away, you can easily lose rhythm and momentum.
"You've still got to respect the opposition."
Warner said New Zealand's swashbuckling skipper Brendon McCullum will be put under pressure by the Australian bowlers.
"If we bowl well to him, we'll create the pressure and he'll have a brain explosion," Warner said.
"If we play our best brand of cricket we're going to get over them."
Warner acknowledged McCullum is in good nick.
"I think a lot of people have seen in the last 10 years how Brendon McCullum can bat," Warner said.
"It's not by fluke or by chance he's come out and scored the runs he has. He's had a great last 12 months but at the end of the day he's one player out of the rest of their team.
"I haven't played much against him. But he seems like a great guy. I think a lot of the guys know him off the field. He seems like a great, humble guy. But when we walk on the field it's going to be a different story.
"If he nicks them we've got to catch them. If they bowl the right line and lengths we'll get him out. He's a player who can come down the wicket, use the off side well. We've got to back our strengths."
McCullum hit the fastest World Cup half-century off just 25 balls on his way to 77 in New Zealand's eight-wicket demolition of England in Wellington on Friday.
Paceman Tim Southee collected figures of 7-33 in that game -- the best by a New Zealand bowler in all one-day internationals -- to boost the home team's status as one of the title favourites.