By IANS
Auckland : The international career of New Zealand’s fast bowler Shane Bond, who has signed to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), ended for all practical purposes Monday after he terminated his contract with his country’s board.
The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced Monday that it had told Bond, 32, it could not play in the ICL and he had decided to pull out of his contract with the NZC.
“Bond has been sympathetic to NZC’s situation. Despite his playing agreements allowing him to continue playing for the Black Caps, and the ICL agreement only requiring his services when international commitments allow, he has decided in the best interests of the NZC to terminate his playing agreement. This has occurred by mutual consent,” the NZC said in a statement.
The International Cricket Council has told its member countries that those who associate themselves with the ICL should not be picked in their national teams.
Injury-prone Bond, a former policeman, said he wanted to play both for New Zealand and the ICL simultaneously.
“I have taken immense pride in playing for the Black Caps. I believed I could continue to do so for the term of my contract while also taking up the ICL opportunity,” Bond was quoted as saying in the NZC statement.
“Given what has happened, I want to do the right thing by NZC, so at their request I have terminated my contract. I will continue to be available to play for the Black Caps and look forward to doing so once again when NZC deems this appropriate.”
Bond, who captured 79 wickets in 17 Tests and 125 in 67 One-Day Internationals, has signed three-year $3.1 million contract with the Subhash Chandra-promoted ICL. He was also on a retainer of more than $120,000 through to June 1 with NZC.
NZC-Bond talks began more than a fortnight ago as an 11th-hour effort to defuse the situation. But no satisfactory agreement was reached and a mediator was called in to try to prevent the dispute reaching the Employment Relations Authority. That effort too failed.