Shane Bond targets Pakistan battle

While a one-off victory does not always indicate future form, Shane Bond has said New Zealand will review their notes from the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final ahead of the series against Pakistan.

The two sides meet for the first of three ODIs on November 3 having recently completed a close tussle in South Africa, where New Zealand came out on top by five wickets. Both teams will play each other in the UAE before heading back home for three Tests, and Bond, the rehabilitated fast bowler, is targeting the limited-overs fixtures.

"We'll redraw the stuff we had last time on them," he said. "It worked pretty well in terms of the bowlers, we knew what we had to do. Obviously this time we'll have to adapt to the surface which will be flat and slow like Pakistan conditions."

New Zealand's batting has not been noticeable for anything outstanding of late, and the absence of an injured Jesse Ryder has been a serious blow. This put more emphasis on the bowlers, said Bond. "The bulk of the experience is now in the bowling line-up. In terms of being a bowler coming back into the team we have to lead from the front and do well which puts pressure on us but we quite enjoy that. If we don't lead we can't rely on the inexperienced blokes to do it all the time."

Bond was confident that he had quickly adapted back to the pace of international cricket after nearly two years on the sidelines due to his ICL deal. Bond, 34, collected six wickets at 40.33 in New Zealand's Champions Trophy campaign. Although at times expensive, most notably when his nine overs against Sri Lanka cost 82 runs, he also proved that he remains a potential matchwinner, as when he grabbed 3 for 21 from ten overs against England. It has been just short of two months since Bond's comeback to the New Zealand team, having previously not played an international match since late 2007.

His captain, Daniel Vettori, has already said Bond will not be rushed back into Test cricket. New Zealand conclude their UAE tour on November 13, after which the players join their domestic sides for the first-class competition. Bond will have an opportunity to acclimatise when Canterbury play Otago from November 17.

"It'll be quite nice to get a full run of cricket in this series and then get back and get into some four-day cricket as well. I'm expecting the more I play the better I'll get. I haven't hit top form but it's not far away," he said. "Everyone goes on about the speed, I'm happy with the pace I'm bowling. The more I bowl the more consistent I'll get. I haven't put in a consistent performance yet. I've been good in the odd spell then I've come back and haven't been as sharp as I'm supposed to be."