Shane Bond chose right path

"Shane Bond will continue to be a very effective Twenty20 bowler," remarked Dayle Hadlee, who had played a crucial role in grooming Bond into a strike bowler while coaching at the New Zealand Cricket Academy.

Bond, who announced his retirement from Test cricket to concentrate on Twenty20 and One-day cricket, has bowled brilliantly for Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Bond has made a very wise decision based on his fitness. It is a great loss for New Zealand in Test cricket but Bond's decision is a very sensible one," added Hadlee who is now based in Dubai as the ICC Global Cricket Academy coach.

"Bond's record in Twenty20 and the 50-over games is outstanding. He is very skilled for these formats of the game," said Hadlee, who was also the head bowling coach of the New Zealand team.

When asked what the quality in Bond was that made him an outstanding bowler, Hadlee said: "It was his attitude. He always had the burning desire to be the man of the match and man of the series. He used to be always the No 1 player to give the best on the field. His whole attitude is one of quality and performance."

Before turning his attention to the young bowlers he was training at the ICC Global cricket Academy yesterday, Hadlee added: "Bond always wanted to be the main strike player. He does not walk onto the field just to play the game. He wanted to be the star performer."