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Bond out of England tour
Shane Bond was ruled out Sunday of the remainder of the tour of England and will fly home later this week, officials said.
New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond was ruled out Sunday of the remainder of the tour of England and will fly home later this week, officials said.
Bond did not play in New Zealand's seven-wicket first Test defeat at Lord's and only took the field in the second Test against England currently in progress here at Headingley as a substitute.
He has now been ruled out of the third and final Test starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday and the subsequent one-day triangular series here with England and the West Indies.
Bond, 29 on Monday, and New Zealand's quickest current bowler, has been out for over a year with a stress fracture of the back.
Wellington left-arm swing bowler James Franklin, presently playing club cricket in north-west England for Blackburn, has been called in as cover.
New Zealand tour manager Lindsay Crocker, announcing Bond's departure, told reporters at Headingley here Sunday: "We've probably done as much as we can here. We've given him (Bond) anti-inflammatories to try to settle it down and it has to a degree.
"But he is still feeling some discomfort in the area," Crocker added. "We think, considering his history, that a conservative approach is the right one.
"The best thing for him is to go home, rest for a period, and build back up for some future engagements."
Bond was due to leave the tour before the end of the one-day series to be with his pregnant wife Tracey who is expecting the couple's first child in early July.
New Zealand's tour has been blighted by injuries with several members of the small original playing squad of 14 affected.
Batsman Craig McMillan broke his little left finger before the second Test and his replacement, Michael Papps, suffered the same injury during the match.
All-rounder Jacob Oram has been prevented from bowling at Headingley because of a side strain and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori tore a hamstring in the field here on Sunday.
