So Shane Bond is no longer a Black cap. This draws to a very premature conclusion the career of probably our most famous fast bowler. Traditionalists will howl and moan and state that Sir Richard Hadlee is easily our most famous. But I say Nay!

Bond arrived when cricket had just started to go truly global. From his honest-John policeman’s background, to his 160kph Yorker, Bond was a cricket marketers dream. But Bond was more than just a one in four million express pace bowler and a guy with a name that was easy to make catch headlines. He was a highly intelligent bowler, using his slower ball with cunning and guile and picking the perfect moment to deliver an unplayable inswinging toe-crusher. He was fortunate enough to arrive in the twilight of one of NZ’s best bowlers, Chris Cairns, and he proved a willing and highly able student. We are not just losing a highly valuable on-field weapon; we are losing an excellent strategist and coaching resource.

He will be remembered most for his utter domination of Australia. His hattrick in a Chappell/Hadlee one day game recently, his owning of the Aussies in the 2003 World Cup are only a few of the many that spring to mind. I wish him luck, and send him off with my blessing. He realises that cricket’s a fickle game and one with a very limited time at the top level particularly for a fast bowler. He is setting himself and his young family up for life, good on him.

He was our most lethal weapon. He was the difference between winning and losing. He, sometimes on his own, allowed us to remain competitive at an international level. We owe him a serious debt of thanks for the past seven years.

Sadly, due to an inept NZ Cricket management team and an equally inept batting line-up Bond’s supreme talent was wasted as injuries took their toll.

We look now to the upcoming tour by the English, the first since 2003. This statement from Stuff.co.nz today should fill me with dread. "Without Bond, New Zealand's best pace bowling hopes will rest on the shoulders of Chris Martin, Kyle Mills and Iain O'Brien, and possibly Mark Gillespie and Michael Mason. But somehow, it doesn’t.

And it’s not because I think that by some miracle, the trio of Martin, Mills, and O’Brien will scare the three lions off the chests of the English. Sadly, despite their confidence, that’s about as likely as England winning the football world cup. I’m more interested to see how our batters perform. We have the bowlers to take 20 wickets. God knows, the English don’t have the batsmen to bat for 5 days on our green seaming paddocks. But the big question is, can we score runs? Can the new opening combination of Bell (Class) and Cumming (cool name, but sadly Ass) show the fortitude necessary to bat for longer than a session? Will Fleming (Class) lead from behind the scenes (we really need him too)? Will Styris (Class) translate his domestic form to international success? Are we a batsman light with Oram (Class but why not #7) at 6? Will the Bracewell experiment of playing NZ domestic crickets 25^th ­best batsman and third best wicketkeeper (Gareth Hopkins (ass)) as a specialist batsman gain any success? What of the international future of Ross Taylor (Class)? Why do we refuse to persevere with true talent? And what of Skippy (Class? Ass? I wish we had a chance to find out)?

Too many questions, only a few of which will be answered by the end of March. We sit and wait with mild anticipation. The weather’s too fine, the beer too tasty, the summer to good to worry about the results. Enjoy the combination of it all.