Bond will not sacrifice speed

[aussie]

Well I know Bond, when fit, can be lethal and invaluable to any team. But the problem with him is he is never fit and NZ have got to move on and plan their team without him.

easier said than done, i'm sure every side in the world if they had Bond would have the same dilemma, its very hard to forget about a player with such ability unless your are Australia probably.

[JF.]

Probably the best thing for NZ to do is plan their side without him and enjoy him as a bonus when he is fit.

[Poker Boy]

Probably the best thing for NZ to do is plan their side without him and enjoy him as a bonus when he is fit.

Agreed - and I think Fleming and Bracewell are too sensible NOT to plan their side without him.. It's the same with England and Simon Jones - potentiaaly a great bowler but never fit long enough to prove it.

[Retox]

Like everyone says it's good when he plays but we can win without him.

Also I guess if he played every game if he did get hurt we wouldn't know what to do, Glem McGrath in the ashes.

I still would like him to play though.

[TT Boy]

Is he going to play against Sri Lanka, Or is his next port of call England, 16th March , St Lucia?

[Tim]

By the sounds of it, he won't play. I heard the team manager say that because its not a must win game, they won't risk him.

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Far out, this is a comedy.

[Tim]

What's funny?

[dontcloseyoureyes]

The fact that he gets injured all the time. He's one of my favourite bowlers to watch, but the absolute farcical nature of his injuries is highly amusing.

Probably less so for a Kiwi. But you guys don't play any cricket these days anyway.

[Perm]

Simon Doull made a point on Game of Two Halves the other night that Bond needs to "harden up" in a sense, he said bowling at this level at his pace he is going to be a little bit stiff after having a bowl. I firmly maintain that something should've been done a long time ago to strengthen the musclese in his back and side if that's the problem, it can't be his bones so it must be his muscles.

[thierry henry]

NZ are a very good ODI side without Bond. We're used to playing without him

Yes, he's a loss. But it's demeaning to our fine one-day unit to act like it's the end of the world. Even our ODI bowling attack is decent without.

[irish swinger]

I think team management just being cautious with Bond due to his history of injuries. Which is fair enough...if we're to have a decent chance of winning the world cup we need Bond fully fit and firing.

Lets just hope its a bit of early season stiffness and not something more serious...cos if it is then I'm afraid its off to the glue factory for Bondage.

[Smudge]

And he's in.

[thierry henry]

...and bowled crap, and we got thrashed. I made a good point tbh

[Bahnz]

He didn't bowl crap, not all the time anyway. But anyone will struggle to have good figures when they have two catches dropped off their bowling, and any edges sail just over the slips. In any circumstance its his first game in 8 months, so he was bound to be rusty.