Shane Bond's master plan

BY JONATHAN MILLMOW

Shane Bond has revealed his plan for the future and it has a little bit of everything.

There is risk in the fact that he wants to play all three forms of the game again. There is surprise in that he has requested not to be considered for New Zealand's tour to Sri Lanka in August and there is the old Bond confidence that, despite being 34, he still thinks he can blow batsmen away.

Bond officially confirmed his comeback to international cricket yesterday, a sweet day for the sport in New Zealand given the turgid performance of the national team at the world Twenty20 event in England.

His days as a rebel cricketer are now in the past and, importantly to a straight-up-bloke like Bond, he still has his dignity intact.

Bond signed with the Indian Cricket League believing he could still play for New Zealand. When it became apparent that was impossible he stayed true to the piece of paper he had signed.

"There have been issues in the past but I'm professional so it's not going to be a problem," he said.

"I would have loved things to have turned out differently so I could have played more for New Zealand but it's in the way that you do it really and I'm pleased with the way I did things.

"Obviously the result wasn't what I wanted but the ICL was a great experience. The cricket was good but it was more the chance to mix with guys like Jason Gillespie and Lance Klusener and get to know them well that was a real highlight.

"And now I've got a second chance, so there are no regrets."

Bond has just returned from his "second honeymoon" with wife Tracey in the United States.

It was bags down, say hi to the children, then back to the gym for what clearly is no half-hearted attempt to round out his cricket career in style.

Bond has thought deeply about what it will take to make a successful comeback and, while the general consensus among so-called experts was to confine himself to the limited-overs form of the game, he had other ideas.

His choice is to play all three forms of the game test, one-day and Twenty20.

With a roaring laugh, Bond admitted that, given his endless back problems, it was "probably fair" for cricket folk to be concerned by his decision. But he has his reasons.

"I'll just do what I've always done and I'll train bloody hard and get as fit as I can, which has never been as issue for me. Then I'll have to be aware of how much I bowl.

"I'm going to have to be careful when I start off again, how much I'm doing, and after that it is a little bit out of my hands."

Bond said the problem of playing one form of the game in New Zealand was just as you started to get into some rhythm "boom the season was over.

"I'm getting to the point now where I haven't played much over the last 18 months so I really want to play.

"I do love the longer version and, having had the taste of playing one form of the game, it really doesn't suit me in terms of how much bowling I do so I would rather just play all three."

Before heading away on his second honeymoon, Bond contacted New Zealand's convener of selectors, Glenn Turner, to discuss his reintroduction to top-flight competition.

He requested that he "not walk straight back in" for the tour to Sri Lanka in July-August.

"Your own ego says, `I would love to get back in and play' but commonsense says, `I need time' and it does take me time to get up to speed.

"I've had time out, I've had no cricket for five months and for my own personal state of mind it would be good for me to have some cricket so I can prove to the selectors and myself that I am worthy of a spot.

"I'm hopeful of getting on the next New Zealand A tour [to India in August]. I think I have to earn my place back to the New Zealand team through performance and merit."

The million dollar question is how much pace Bond has lost during his 18 months in the wilderness.

He is a smart operator and that will always serve him well at the bowling crease, but a period of moderate-level cricket at the ICL will have dragged him down a peg or two.

It was noticeable for Canterbury last summer that he was lively rather than devastatingly quick.

"I was carrying a few kilos last summer, I wasn't anywhere near as fit as I'm used to being, but I still felt I had the pace. There were times when I bowled well.

"So I know if I pull my finger out and get back to where I should be I've still got it, so I've done that. I'm in really good shape at the moment. I still know I can bowl quick so it's just a matter of getting the chance to do it again.

"I still felt last summer I was the quickest bowler going around on the domestic scene and, to be fair, if I didn't feel like that then I wouldn't be coming back.

"That is why I'm making a go of it because I still think I've got something to offer."

Bond's last test match was against South Africa in November 2007 and he hopes his next one will be almost two years to the day if Pakistan tour New Zealand later this year as has been mooted.

Then there is the small matter of the 2011 World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, a tournament he starred in in 2007 in the West Indies when he was the most economical bowler. "You see the World Cup a couple of years away so that is tempting and I don't feel like I'm 34, so that is a good thing. "To be fair, I've only really thought about trying to get back in the team. If I can achieve that and get back in the team, the rest will flow from there."

Finally, something for cricket folk to smile about.

SHANE BONDAge: 34 Province: Canterbury Record: Tests: 17 79 wickets at 22.39, best 6-51 One-day: 67 matches 125 wickets at 19.32, best 6-19, runs per over 4.20 Twenty20: nine matches 12 wickets at 20.33, runs per over 7.07 First class: 58 matches 211 wickets at 24.53, best 7-66 --------------------

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