Premium Bond

[feverpitch]

Nice little piece on Shane Bond. He has long been one of my favourite cricketers; he has the attributes to be one of the world's best bowlers, as shown by his phenomenal record against Australia.


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There is nothing in sport quite like the brilliant performer who is never able to fulfil his talent. As things stand, Shane Bond is set to join this group. But he has already done things many fine bowlers who fulfilled every ounce of their talent were never able to do.

Bond is 31. For a fast bowler, this is normally the time for adaptation; pace is declining and real nous is needed to halt one’s decline. But Bond’s goals must barely extend beyond steering clear of the stress fractures that have so impeded the international career which begin with such promise in Australia five years ago.

Bond’s debuts, in Test and one-day international cricket, both came on that tour. Yet, in the five years since, he has played just 14 out of a possible 38 Tests; meanwhile, he has participated in only 45 of his country’s 112 ODIs.

Of players in modern times, the Kiwi probably most resembles Simon Jones; both made their names against Australia – but both have both been continually afflicted by injuries. Jones, at least, is still short of his 28th birthday, so has realistic hope of doing justice to his reverse-swinging talents.

For a fast bowler, there is no higher praise than a comparison with Frank Tyson, the great Englishman who took 76 wickets in just 17 tests at a phenomenal average of 18. Yet Bond surely finds such comparisons uncomfortable; a man of his immense talent does not deserve to have his tally of test caps end in the teens. He currently has 64 wickets at 21 in 14 tests (although Tyson never played Zimbabwe or Bangladesh). No ODI bowler with more than 50 wickets has taken their wickets at a superior average to the Kiwi’s 18. Among New Zealand’s fast bowlers, Bond is arguably second only to Richard Hadlee. It only adds to supporters’ frustrations that one of the world’s most lethal yorkers is in action so rarely.

Among New Zealand’s fast bowlers, Bond is arguably second only to Richard Hadlee. It only adds to supporters’ frustrations that one of the world’s most lethal yorkers is in action so rarely.

In his fleeting international career, Bond has already produced enough brilliance for his name to live long in the memory. His 10-wicket haul in the Caribbean, which secured New Zealand’s first ever Test series victory there was something special; how often has a Kiwi been the outstanding fast man in the West Indies? His spell of 4-33 at home to India in late 2002 was also proof of his immense wicket-taking talent; Bond’s devilish bowling accounted for Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and skipper Sourav Ganguly.

A charge frequently levelled against performers whose success is only fleeting is that they never proved themselves against the best. With Shane Bond, it contains not the slightest amount of truth. In six ODIs against traditional rival and cricketing superpower Australia, Bond has taken a superhuman 22 wickets at an average of 10. His awesome spells of 5-25 and 4-38 during the 2002 VB series helped to ensure the competition was not lost amidst the sea of one-dayers; but his sensational spell in the 2003 World Cup cemented his reputation – regardless of whether he ever comes near repeating the feat again.

It was in this Super Six game that Bond proved beyond doubt he has all the attributes to be the complete fast bowler. He had the height to trouble the world’s best with the bounce he generated; but it was his sheer pace and accuracy in pitching the ball up (he avoided the temptation to bowl too short) that reduced the tournament winners to disarray. Bond’s incredible spell left Australia 84-7, before, true to form, they were saved through Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel.

So what now? Well, the one man capable of turning New Zealand’s otherwise amiable attack into something to fear is currently fit (though whether he will be when you read this is another matter!) He has played nine consecutive ODIs, and is progressing on an upward curve ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. At this stage of his career, another major injury could spell the end the end for the policemen turned lethal fast bowler. Then again, if Bond can do the impossible and go three years without injury, he should at least become the household name his exploits have merited.

The current crop of fast bowlers in international cricket is the worst in memory; as a result, undoubtedly brilliant batsmen such as Ricky Ponting are seldom truly tested. New Zealand and neutral fans alike need Shane Bond back and firing to help restore the balance between bat and ball. Ponting, who, remarkably, has been dismissed six times out of six in ODIs by Bond, may secretly harbour hopes that his latest comeback is aborted.

From http://www.third-umpire.com/

[feverpitch]

And guess who's injured yet again?

However, it doesn't seem to be that serious; hopefully Bond will be back for the Kiwis' next game.

[Wanderer]

Well, the kiwi's been the proteas without Bond... They've learnt to play well without him

I don't think it was in injury as such. Maybe just a "rest" as the pitch wasn't condusive to pace bowling anyway...

[Wanderer]

New Zealand may well be without Bond again for tomorrow match vs the Sri Lankans.

He is still complaining of "stiff-ness" and team management said they're not going to rush him back to the team until he recovered completely.

Smart move too. It's not like the pitches have favoured out and out fast bowling anyway.