Bond misses out on Canterbury contract

The former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has not been given a first-class contract with Canterbury due to his commitments with the Indian Cricket League. Bond, who is already committed to play in a tournament organised by the unofficial league in India at the time the Canterbury contracts take effect, said it was not yet clear how much more time he would be required to spend in India.

The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan said on Wednesday that Bond had to be available for Canterbury throughout the length of the deal from October to mid-April. "If he is unable to commit to that then I would think that precludes him from taking up a full-time contract. Of course, he can still play when he is available as a free agent for match fees as he did last season," he told the Press, a Christchurch-based daily .

Lee Germon, the former New Zealand captain, who is also chief executive of the Canterbury Cricket Association, echoed a similar sentiment. "He wants to play for Canterbury, which is great. The question mark was around how much of it would he be available for," he told New Zealand Herald.

Bond was stripped of his New Zealand contract last season after signing for the ICL, despite having initially been told by NZC he could still play for the national side after joining the unofficial league.

He was also unhappy that other New Zealand players had been allowed to miss matches for the national side while playing for the officially-sanctioned Indian Premier League and still be offered NZC contracts.

Bond said it was unfortunate that the Indian cricket board was trying to tell other countries how to run their game. "I think there has been too much bending over backwards to not upset India."

He played an ICL tournament in March and later signed with English county side Hampshire.