Mark Richardson: Standout will be missed

Shane Bond. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It's sort of a relief Shane Bond has put his tired, cracked and broken back to rest for the final time. Now I can stop missing him.

However, he will be missed for quite some time - just not with the sense of frustration knowing he was still available but out injured.

When it came to the highest form of the game, test cricket, New Zealand did not win without him.

He completed the bowling line-up, and made it a proper unit worthy of test status.

In ODIs, he provided that same crucial penetration. The Black Caps could win in the shorter forms without him but he made things a lot easier.

He was a standout and stand-alone cricketer in New Zealand since he burst onto the scene in 2001. He was the catalyst for the very good run of results the Black Caps enjoyed over the next few years.

His retirement at 34 is about right for a strike bowler but, let's face it, he has played as much cricket as a 24-year-old.

Sure, his injury record was frustrating but at least we got the use of him every so often. Had he not been around at all the last decade, it would have made for some pretty sorry viewing.

Looking into the near future he will be every bit as difficult to replace as Sir Richard Hadlee was - but at least we've had a bit of practice at it.

Bond wasn't at his best in terms of pace in the World T20 but he still showed class with his canniness and use of the slower ball. It wasn't enough.

Once again, it was a lack of runs at crucial times and in crucial matches that killed off hope of a badly needed Black Caps triumph. We were let down again by players who fail to live up to their billing as world class.

Where was our Michael Hussey, or Kevin Pietersen when it really counted?

Thank goodness for Michael Hussey who, I feel, has saved the ICC a few blushes. His last-gasp, six-hitting heroics propelled Australia into victory against Pakistan who very nearly got made the final on the back of three wins from six games.

As it happens they got through to the semifinal on the strength of two wins out of five matches. Only if they had gone on to win the final would they have ended up with more wins than losses.

But thank goodness the two best and form teams have made it through to the championship game. The game of T20 is accused of being a lottery at the best of times, many of the players will tell you so too.

For now the game is here to stay and it is a valuable product but, if viewed simply as a game of chance, interest will wane.

The World T20 should be a showcase but if the format turns it into a lottery it can hardly help us enjoy this increasingly ubiquitous form of the game.