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Shane Bond of New Zealand will make a comeback to official cricket after a hiatus of 2 years. He will play against Srilanka in the T20 international on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old Bond is regarded as the best New Zealand fast bowler. He has expressed his delight to play for his country again and said, "It's been a long time coming and it's something I never thought would happen again. It feels like I am starting all over again."
Bond played for New Zealand for the last time in November 2007.He is hopeful to meet the expectations of his team-mates and fans.
Bond said, “I think I set myself pretty high standards and it is up to me to meet those. I always strive to be the best bowler in the world, nothing's changed there."
Bond has to his credit 79 wickets from 17 Tests, 125 from 67 One-Day Internationals and 12 in nine Twenty20 matches till he was banished for his ICL connections.
Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori was not expecting any immediate results from the pacer.
"I can see the pressure building from a distance," said Vettori.
"People are viewing him as a sort of saviour to some recent woes, but I think we need to let Shane relax and build his way back into the team."
Vettori is confident on his boys and expects better performance in Twenty20 internationals on Wednesday and Friday, and the limited-overs tri-series against India starting from September 8.
He said, “I think the guys have a real belief in their own ability in the shorter forms of the game. I hope we will see a turnaround in our performances."
