Sport - Cricket

India has made great strides, says Bond

NEW DELHI: He watched the last few overs to convince himself that Australia’s dominance had indeed been eroded in what was to be the last tri-series.

For Shane Bond, it was reconfirmation of the fact that India had indeed made great strides.

“Australia is not as dominant as it had been. The depth is missing and I think Australia would struggle in the sub-continent. But we have to respect their cricket. Australia losing is very good for the game and it should generate interest, more so in Australia. I am sure people would now come to the ground to watch their team not just thinking of what the margin of victory would be,” said the New Zealand fast bowler, here to participate in the Indian Cricket League.

On Australia losing to India in the tri-series, Bond observed, “It has to do with the fact that they have lost some good players. The stars are gone and they don’t have players who have the aura.”

Bond praised Sachin Tendulkar and Ishant Sharma.

“Sachin showed solid defence and put away bad balls. It was clear during the Test series that he was setting goals. I liked Ishant. He has a huge prospect of becoming a very good bowler. To bowl 150 in your first series is special. Ishant bowled well enough to make people sit up and take notice,” he said.

International cricket, in his opinion, was in a state of turmoil.

“There is uncertainty around. There is lot of cricket, lot of money, and no one really knows where the game is heading with Twenty20 becoming so popular. The game has become global and its popularity is growing. There are more jobs in cricket now,” he said.

Bond, however, did not favour ban on sledging.

“I have no problems with sledging. It is war on the field and we shouldn’t be over-stepping the line. There is no problem in people getting stuck with each other but sledging should not be banned,” he added. — Special Correspondent

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