I see that the inevitable has finally happoened and Shane Bond has retired from test cricket.
There is no doubt he has been the best strike bowler we have produced since the days of Hadlee. The problem was that his body just could not handle the stress at bowling that fast time and time again. As great as it was to see him roaring in against Pakistan, it was just as predictable that he would break down again.
When you look back over the last few years, you wonder why do our players fall over in such regular numbers? In Bond’s case he simply could not cope going hard out for extended spells in test cricket. For others, i’m not so sure. I’m no expert, but surely in this day and age there are fitness gurus, physios, doctors, etc, etc that are part of elite teams. Why aren’t the players able to stay fit and healthy? Why are a few of them consistently breaking down?
At the end of the day, for the top guys, this is their job. They should be making sure their bodies are up to it. The selectors should be making sure they only pick players who can go the distance at the top level. Too many times we have been let down at the last minute by yet another player coming down with a muscle strain or similar. That to me is unforgiveable at that level.
In other cricket news, I see Lou Vincent has reappeared and indicated he wants to play for NZ. Please don’t do it. If there is one thing that annoys the hell out of me with NZ cricket, it is them going back to the same batsmen over and over again.
The likes of Matthew Sinclair and Peter Fulton are classic examples of what I call first class bullies. they score a ton of runs domestically, but are not up to international standards. They get picked, fail, get dropped, get picked, fail, get dropped, get picked…. You see where I’m going with this.
Lou Vincent is another who has had his chance and never really took it. Pick some young talent and stick with them. They may struggle initially, but give them an extended run before looking at others. And don’t go back to flogging old horses who have alreday proven they’re not up to it.
Just to finish off, my last blog was on why are we so violent.
Within 24 hours, it emerges three girls kidnap an 83 year old lady and drive her around town stealing money from her account after forcing her to give them her PIN number. WTF goes through someones mind that they could even begin to think that doing that to an 80 year old woman is OK? Criminals are bad enough, but to do that to a defenseless pensioner is unforgiveable.
When they are caught not just the book needs to be thrown at them, it’s the whole bloody library that needs to be.
One thing I will say, no one who does that can have been brought up in a household that provided support and which set boundaries for their kids. Disgraceful!