Richard Boock: Bond should avoid putting body to the test

Black Caps fast bowler Shane Bond is currently on his way back to New Zealand, his tour hopes shattered by little more than a swollen knee, his future again up for discussion.

If there is a silver lining to his latest anatomical failure, it is only that the symptoms - though debilitating enough to prevent him from playing - are not expected to have any long-lasting effects, and should begin to disappear after six weeks of rest.

The bad news is that Bond's fragility in the longer game has once again raised questions about how he should best be handled, and whether it's time to face the fact that his body can no longer cope with the heavier demands of test cricket.

At 30 years of age, it's not altogether surprising that New Zealand's fastest bowler is running into his share of injury problems.

Add a bout of surgery that strengthened his back with bone-splints and titanium wire, and his bizarre predilection for picking up mysterious illnesses, and it's clear that he will always be a risk to select, whatever the tour.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Bond was making his debut at Hobart, turning in a performance that was sufficiently impressive to raise eyebrows not only in New Zealand but also in the land of fast-bowling - Australia.

Within weeks he'd cemented his reputation as New Zealand's quickest bowler since Gary Bartlett, and selectors, coaches and teammates were rubbing their hands together in glee. Finally, someone to lead the attack.

Unfortunately, within a few more weeks he was showing the first signs of the delicate nature of his infrastructure, blowing a radiator during an intensely hot and humid Queensland evening, and ending up on an intravenous drip to aid his rehydration. Later, he had similar problems in India, and then began running into a series of back problems that led to his premature return from Sri Lanka in 2003, from England in 2004, and his subsequent back surgery.

Bond returned fully fit for last year's tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, but immediately ran into further problems during the home series this summer, missing three one-dayers with an assortment of complaints, and the second test against the West Indies with an eleventh-hour stomach bug.

Then there was this month's tour of South Africa, when he aggravated the knee injury on the first day of the warm-up game at Benoni, and never bowled another ball in anger. He made the decision to pull out of the tour himself after another fruitless training session before the second test.

As he departed the tour, Bond made the comment that he was frustrated to be ruled out by such a minor injury, and he probably would have risked himself and played had it been a one-day game.

And that could well be where his future lies.

In the short term, Bond will be able to concentrate on being fit for mainly ODI cricket. New Zealand's next major commitment is at the Champions Trophy in India, starting in October, followed by the Chappell-Hadlee one-dayers in December, the VB Series in January and the World Cup in March.

By the time he gets through all that (touch wood) he will be pushing towards his 32nd birthday, making his chances of coping with the intensity of the five-day game even slimmer.

With that in mind, it might be better for himself and for his team if he chooses to bite the bullet now, and to forgo test cricket in order to increase his longevity in the shorter game, something that his former teammate Geoff Allott managed with some success.

There's no doubt that it would be a blow to lose Bond from the test arena - but it would be a bigger blow to lose him altogether.