Shane Bond on verge of greater things

Shane Bond, the world's third fastest bowler is now only a few km/h away from becoming a genuine contender to the big guns, of Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee.

Against Bangladesh yesterday, Bond recorded his fastest delivery, clocking 153.6km/h and beating his previous best effort of 153.5km/h on June 29 last year in the West Indies.

Bond has steadily built up speed from his first Test matches in 2001 which netted him top speeds of 142.3km/h and 146.2km/h. In January 2002, Bond clocked fastest speeds of 147.6km/h and 148.2km/h and burst into the express paceman's club, on January 26 in emphatic style with a 151.2km/h searing yorker which shattered Adam Gilchrist's stumps.

Jason Gillespie is Bond's nearest rival for the No 3 spot as last year he bowled at 151.0km/h and 153.9km/h in consecutive matches in South Africa. Gillespie however has not gone above the high 140s (km/h) since then and his top speed in the tournament so far sits at 148.9km/h. By contrast, Bond has reached 148.6km/h, 151.3km/h and now 153.6km/h in his first three matches and looks to be on the verge of something very special.

In his second match against the West Indies, Bond was in the express lane, during his first spell, bowling nine deliveries above 150km/h. He ended up with fastest balls of 151.3km/h, 148.0km/h and 146.3km/h in each spell.

When Bond emerged on the international scene, he had played 19 first-class matches. He was chosen after some outstanding bowling in India's Buchi Babu tournament showed he had overcome back injuries that frustrated the early stages of his career. The extra pace he has gained is most likely the result of increased experience, confidence and refinement to his action.

A distinct disadvantage however to Bond's chances of knocking off either Lee or Shoaib in the pace race, is that he plays half of his matches in New Zealand. The radar guns being used in New Zealand only measure horizontal velocity which may be fine for baseball, but in cricket horizontal velocity is not relevant.

In cricket varying angles must be catered for to accurately reflect bowling speeds and this cannot be done with the equipment employed in New Zealand. The scanning rate of a standard radar gun does not allow for the ball's speed to consistently be captured the instant it leaves the bowler's hand so the speeds on display in New Zealand may also reflect an air affected velocity.

The big companies like BBG Sports and EDH have found unique ways to negate these variables and display speeds which represent actual ball velocity rather than horizontal velocity.

The result of all of this is that Bond's fastest recorded ball in New Zealand stands at 146km/h. In the field of bowling speeds that is a long way from his 153.6km/h recorded today by BBG and his 153.5km/h by EDH.

Not since Nantie Hayward bowled at 154.4km/h late in 2001 has a bowler materialized to threaten Shoaib and Lee for the Nos 1 and 2 spots. Bond has announced himself as a genuine threat and may soon be a contender for the title of the fastest bowler in the world.