Mark Richardson: Bond motor could go a really good tune-up

So now we wait with crossed fingers that Shane Bond doesn't have a stiff back. It was a surprise to see him and Scott Styris take the field against Sri Lanka but with them back New Zealand fielded its best team for some time and therefore it was an even bigger surprise that they produced such a lacklustre display.

The blame for this one cannot be placed on Bond or Styris, but rather on a batting line-up that looked unsure of itself.

With two spinners in the mix, Jacob Oram bats at No 6 and while those below him fall into the "almost-genuine" all-rounder class, responsibility for total getting and setting rests heavily on the top five.

Not enough of them are contributing at once and again Hamish Marshall is a growing lump in John Bracewell's throat.

But back to Bond. He is a great talking point because on the New Zealand cricket horizon, he is the stand-alone beacon of hope.

It is understandable that when it comes to niggly back aches the chap is cautious, after all he has had stress fractures since he was about 16.

More and more it must be playing on his mind that another stiff back that turns into a cracked back will see him back in uniform in Cathedral Square asking drunks to move along. It is also understandable that New Zealand desperately want him at the World Cup in March.

New Zealand gets fleeting glimpses of what it is like to have one of the world's fastest and deadliest bowlers, but of late when Bond manages to get onto the track, he has been far from fluid.

He is like that prized sports car you keep locked in the garage. Man it can hum and it turns heads, but the factory warranty has expired and you can't really afford the insurance.

So it sits there, looking all shiny and sparkly. Occasionally you climb into a seat, start it up put it in neutral and pretend you're charging down country roads at break-neck speeds, slamming it into second and taking corners like you just shouldn't, then back up through the gears laughing at those you overtake.

But when you do pluck up the courage to actually take it for a spin, it coughs and splutters down the road because it's cold.

It's not running how you would like it to and that makes you wince. You don't want to hurt it so you carefully push it back in the garage and convince yourself that what it needs is just a bit more maintenance.

But, really, what it needs is more time on the track.

If Bond is allowed to sit in the garage for much longer he may never get the chance to properly tune-up his engine or, worse, he may even become obsolete.

Perhaps it's time to go for a newer model but that would mean buying something from overseas because there sure as hell isn't anything suitable in any showroom in this country.