Cricket: Bond faces difficult second season

By RICHARD BOOCK

For someone with only half a dozen tests to his name, fast bowler Shane Bond will be carrying plenty of responsibility when he lines up against India in the first test at Wellington.

The man who made such a splash in his first summer of international cricket is now facing the often-difficult follow-up season, when opposition batsmen are more aware of who he is, what he does and how he goes about his business.

Unlike a year ago, when he burst on to the international scene as a virtual unknown, Bond will now run in at batsmen who have studied and analysed him on video, and who have devised plans to counter his pace and swing.

His bouncer would have been dismantled frame by frame, his reverse swing would have been noted, and variations such as slower balls and outswingers filed away for future reference.

The Indians will already know that he can wield a bat reasonably effectively, and coach John Wright is sure to have made his players aware of Bond's capabilities as an outfielder, leaving the 27-year-old facing a much more difficult task in his second season.

And if that's not enough, Bond will also be asked to carry a huge responsibility in terms of countering the highly regarded Indian batting line-up, which contains four of the world's 10 most productive batsmen of the year.

For New Zealand to have any hope against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, Bond's effort with the new ball will need to be incisive, particularly because the rest of the pace attack poses few fears for top-flight batsmen.

Former New Zealand fast bowler Brendon Bracewell, who knocked over Graham Gooch and Mike Brierley on debut at the Oval in 1978, said yesterday that there was every chance that Bond would find this season more difficult than last, although he believed he would cope.

"I think Shane's got the ideal temperament to get through his second season reasonably smoothly, even though the opposition will be better prepared for him this time - they know who he is now," Bracewell said.

"He strikes me as a pretty relaxed sort of guy and because he's 27, rather than a teenager, he should be able to handle the job and kick on to make a real name for himself."

For all that, Bracewell predicted more pressure would be placed on New Zealand's attack because India would have identified Bond and spinner Daniel Vettori as the main threats, and would almost certainly employ tactics to negate them.

Bond, who has played two tests each against Australia, Bangladesh and the West Indies, has so far taken 26 wickets at 25.19, including five for 78 and five for 104 during his most recent outings in the Caribbean.

"India will take one look at New Zealand's attack and realise that if they can counter Bond and Vettori, the pressure will be turned up on the others big-time," said Bracewell, who runs a cricket academy in the Bay of Plenty.

"But the beauty of Bond, from what I've seen, is that he's relaxed and clearly confident, and his body is strong and mature.

"He's past the fragile stage of his career and can really throw himself into his work."

Chairman of selectors Sir Richard Hadlee was another to acknowledge the increased degree of difficulty in a follow-up season, but believed Bond was better prepared than most to deal with it.

"He's not a novice by any stretch and he's also had that invaluable training with the police, so I think Shane knows how to handle the extra pressure," Hadlee said.

"He's moving the ball into the batsmen at pace, he's very competitive as a bowler and he's got loads of confidence, so we're confident he will continue to make progress."

The first test starts on December 12.

JUST THE FACTS

Shane Bond

Age: 27

Teams: Canterbury, Warwickshire, New Zealand

Test debut: v Australia, Hobart, 2001-02

ODI debut: v Australia, Melbourne, 2001-02

Best bowling (tests): five for 78 v West Indies, Bridgetown, 2002

Best bowling (ODIs): five for 25 v Australia, Adelaide, 2001-02