Shane Bond is considered by the cricketing world to be the best fast bowler the Kiwis have seen since Richard Hardley. If injury had not plagued him throughout his career, Bond would have been one of the greats in terms of number of matches and number of wickets taken. But it was disappointing news for the fans that he had to retire from the field before turning 35 years of age after playing just 18 Tests, 82 ODIs and 20 T20s.
When I talk about Bond, the first thing that comes to my mind is the India-New Zealand match in the 2003 ODI World Cup. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, India bowled out the Kiwis for 146 runs thanks to Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan. India won the game by 7 wickets but India’s chase was not easy at all. As the innings began, Sachin and Sehwag really trembled in front of Bond’s fireballs.
Bond, who returned Sehwag in his first over, broke Ganguly’s stumps in the second over with a 153 KPH yorker. Sachin also got out soon but Dravid and Kaif combined to lead India to victory without further loss. It was also in this game that Bond threw his fastest ball of his career (156.4KPH).
In addition to injuries, Bond’s career was also marred by disciplinary action. In 2008, the Kiwis Cricket Board excluded Bond from the central contract after joining the Indian Cricket League, a rebel league. Apart from injury, this break also affected his career negatively.
Bond played 8 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders in the third season of the Indian Premier League in 2010 and announced his retirement from all formats within two months of the IPL.
Currently the bowling coach of Mumbai Indians, Shane Bond has 87 wickets in Tests, 145 in ODIs, 25 in T20Is and 9 in IPL.
Written by: Shankar Das
Credit: Malayali Cricket Zone
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Shane Bond
2023-08-08 12:27:15
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