Shane Bond retires

Shane Bond has announced his retirement from all cricket today which is sad but probably not a huge surprise.

When I look back at Bond's career I think "what could have been."  Bond has undoubtedly been our best bowler since Hadlee and I always felt a lot more confident when he was in the team.

His record speaks for itself.   In one dayers he took 147 wickets from 82 matches at an outstanding average of 20.88.  Who can forget his 6 for 22 against Australia in the 2003 World Cup where he single handedly ripped the heart out of the Aussie top order.  He was economical to boot conceding only 4.22 per over.

In tests he was just as impressive.  Unfortunately he only managed to play 18 tests but still captured 87 wickets at an average of 22.09.  For me the telling statistic is the matches NZ won when Bond was in the team.  Out of the 18 test matches he played NZ won 10, drew 6 and lost only 2.  This staggering winning percentage of 55% proves his worth to the New Zealand cricket team particularly when you compare it to the average winning percentage of 19%.

Injuries plagued Bond and cut short what should have been a glittering career.  He should be placed amongst the greats of NZ cricket and I say "thanks for the memories Bondy".