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Panchkula, India: Australia and New Zealand may be, historically, one of the arch-rivals of the game, but here is one Kiwi who is yet to conclude that the Australian cricket empire is on the decline.
The back-to-back losses to India in the final of the Commonwealth Bank series may have sparked off such a debate, but former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond thinks otherwise. One of the most destructive fast bowlers of the present generation with no controversy regarding his bowling action, Bond is now in India to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Following are excerpts from an exclusive interview:
On the so-called decline of the Australian team:
Bond: You see, the likes of [Glenn] McGrath and [Shane] Warne have retired, so has [Adam] Gilchrist. [Matthew] Hayden too is old. But you cannot judge the Aussies on the basis of one series. I would like to wait and watch how they perform in India when they come in the winter. The Aussies can come back hard at you. Don't forget, they had blown England away after they had lost the Ashes. So, let's wait for a few days before reaching any verdict about the Australian team.
On whether it can be said that Australia had been pushed to the second place now...
I do not think so. For relegating them to the second place, a country needs to dominate the cricket world for no fewer than a decade, like what these Aussies had done. Only then you can say that you have got the successors for the Australians.
On the Indian pace attack
I am really impressed with the quality of the Indian pace bowling. They are fresh, talented, have the hunger to do well and complement each other. I had never seen such a wonderfully balanced Indian pace attack.
On whether he is impressed by anybody in particular...
I want to laud each member of the attack. Zaheer [Khan], R.P. [Singh], Ishant [Sharma], Munaf [Patel], [Irfan] Pathan - each and everybody. They are quite a team now. Hence when Zaheer and R.P. were not there for the one-day series, they did not face any problem to intimidate the Aussies.
On the young Indian team
Well, they have done really well. But people should not go overboard and dump the seniors. For me, you cannot get the replacements for the likes of Sourav [Ganguly], Rahul [Dravid], [Anil] Kumble and [VVS] Laxman overnight. They can still play for India for some more time and I think it would just be great to have them in the team with the juniors.
On India's one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Dhoni was superb in Australia. He had successfully led the country to the Twenty-20 World Cup win also. He is definitely going to be the next Indian Test captain, no doubt about it.
On the two Twenty20 leagues
Well, I don't know how the cricketers will come and begin playing for their respective teams overnight. We at the ICL have been here for the last so many months and practising every day. In IPL, say, Ponting will come to Kolkata and start playing matches right away. I don't know whether this is all right for any serious sport.
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