If fast bowlers were the horses that they are often likened to—charging in, chomping at the bit, hooves pounding and manes flowing as they summoned up the energy for a final, leaping burst—then New Zealand’s Shane Bond was a thoroughbred through and through. It’s sad that the fast bowler had so short a career, having debuted just eight years ago, because on and off the field he reeked of class.
No modern-day bowler has tormented the Australians—and most other opponents, for that—with such clinical cool. The former policeman landed yorkers with stellar pace and accuracy, and was quick enough to trouble the batsmen when he dropped short. Not that he often resorted to that tactic; Shane Bond was not your stereotypical bully fast bowler.
Formerly a policeman before entering the international scene at the relatively late age of 26, the tall, lean pacer had a quiet debut but made an instant impression with his pace and accuracy. He was a matchwinner, too—of the 18 Tests he played—who else has become a household name in so short a career—New Zealand won 10 and lost 2; of the 52 he missed since debut, they won only 11.
That, unfortunately, was the problem with Bond; his body couldn’t handle the rigor of pace bowling on a consistent level, and he broke down with injury so often it was a minor shock when New Zealand did find themselves fortunate enough to call him in. For such blinding talent so wracked by injury, it’s hard to think up comparisons—perhaps only the likes of Ian Bishop and Shoaib Akhtar have promised so much only to break down.
And what a bowler he was. Forget the bare numbers, themselves astonishing, for a minute; remember those searing yorkers, honed with late swing; think of the number of times he had quality batsmen and sides fending, hopping, slipping and beaten as if they were club amateurs. He didn’t need to snarl, spit or swear; he was good enough to get by without such theatrics. The nastiest you ever got from Shane Bond was a cold stare; generally he had an agreeable, detached demeanor.
20 wickets in Bond’s first seven one-days—against Australia and South Africa, two of the world’s best—was a fitting start to his one-day career, and he rattled Australia spectacularly with 6 for 23 at the 2003 World Cup. Bizarrely, New Zealand managed to lose that encounter, and even more bizarrely it took two and a half years for Bond to return to the side. When he did he helped thud in the nails to Zimbabwe’s Test coffin, but it was a blistering 6 for 19 against India that really fired the imagination.
After the 2007 World Cup, as well—as an economical and effective ace bowler—Bond disappeared from the international scene for two and a half years. His last season, in fact, appears to have been his busiest, perhaps because he called it a day from Tests after foiling Pakistan at a Dunedin nail-biter. And it was fitting that his one-day career should end after a systematic disassembly of Australia, who will freely admit him to be one of their most threatening opponents.
With most unfulfilled talents, such as South Africa’s boycotted brigade, it is tempting to uselessly wonder what they could have achieved had they not encountered their specific obstacles. With Bond there is little need to—he flitted on the international scene for a while, but did it so remarkably that one suspects he would have troubled the most accomplished of opponents.
