KEY POINTS:
HOBART - It could, perhaps unkindly, be described as the hare against the tortoise.
New Zealand cricketers Shane Bond and Nathan Astle are neck and neck in the race to be the 11th Black Cap to take 100 one-day international wickets going into tomorrow's tri-series match against England here.
Astle went wicketless from four overs in yesterday's 105-run loss to Australia to remain on 99 while Bond's final over hat-trick, just the second by a New Zealander after Danny Morrison, saw him race to 99.
Of course, Astle is better known for his 16 centuries with the bat, but his niggly medium pacers have reaped 99 wickets from 220 matches at 38.2 runs apiece and he may be a key man tomorrow on a slow, low pitch.
Since bursting on the scene against Australia and South Africa at this same tournament five years ago, Bond has raced to 99 in just his 52nd match at 19.31.
He will almost certainly top former paceman Chris Pringle's speed of wicket-taking -- 103 victims from 64 matches.
Bond had mixed feelings about his performance yesterday as he took an expensive four for 61 -- including 22 off his ninth over -- but finished spectacularly by removing Cameron White, Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken in consecutive balls.
It took his record against Australia to 28 wickets from eight matches at 12.36.
"I was reasonably happy, I felt pretty good bar that one over. (Adam) Gilchrist's in pretty good touch so it's just a ball here or there where I just lost my way," Bond said.
"In general I thought I came back well, it's just the one over that killed me. Things are going well, I know they can get a bit better but I'm reasonably happy."
Tomorrow will be Bond's first one-day match against England, having missed the 2002 series in New Zealand due to a foot stress fracture and the 2004 tri-series with an ongoing back injury.
Meanwhile, another New Zealand player will soon join the centurion's club, with allrounder Jacob Oram also poised on 99 as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Oram is expected to return for New Zealand's match against England in Adelaide on January 23 for his 88th one-dayer.
Leading New Zealand wicket-takers in one-day internationals (matches played in brackets):
Chris Harris 203 (250), Chris Cairns 200 (214), Daniel Vettori 166 (178), Richard Hadlee 158 (115), Ewen Chatfield 142 (115), Danny Morrison 126 (96), Martin Snedden 114 (93), Gavin Larsen 113 (121), Scott Styris 106 (118), Chris Pringle 103 (64), Shane Bond 99 (52), Nathan Astle 99 (220), Jacob Oram 99 (87).
- NZPA
