Saturday 10 March 2007

Shane Bond

As the World Cup approaches, Third Umpire will be selecting a ODI World 11, with one player featuring every day. We continue with our number ten, New Zealand's Shane Bond.

Like all the best fast bowlers in cricket's rich history, Shane Bond possesses the deadly combination of terrifying pace and great control. His inswinging yorker is one of the best deliveries in the game, asking serious questions of even the most technically gifted batsmen currently playing.

His average in ODIs is an astonishing 19.66, coupled with an alarming strike rate of just 27.03 - a wicket every five and a half overs. For a strike bowler, whose main purpose is to take wickets, he also has a fine economy rate of 4.36. In other words, Bond is the ultimate attacking fast bowler, a potential match-winner on any surface.

His only achilles heel is injury, to which he succumbs all too often. It is sad to note that in a career spanning over five years he has only played 59 ODIs. If he manages to keep fit for the whole of the forthcoming World Cup he could be one of the major stars and be a key factor in New Zealand progressing further than they ever have before.

1 comment:

Amit Bajaj said...

I really hope it turns out to be Bond's cup...its high time he arrived on the world scene. He's just played 58 odis till date..just hope he doesn't get injured again.