Bond expects pitches to help seamers

Shane Bond, New Zealand's main strike bowler, is confident that the late-summer pitches in South Africa will assist the seam bowlers. New Zealand are currently in South Africa for a three-Test series, the first of which commences at Centurion on Saturday.

Bond, expected to be fit for the first Test despite concerns over a knee injury, said he found evidence of seam movement after watching highlights of Australia's tour of South Africa which concluded early this month.

"The most interesting thing was the nature of the wickets - they all seemed to do a little," he told The Witness, a South African daily. "It's also unusual to be playing cricket at this time of year, and that may mean there'll be something in the wickets for the bowlers.

"I think we have a nice balance in our team - we have four seamers, and [Scott] Styris and [Nathan] Astle aren't too bad either, so if the wickets do something, all our bowlers could be dangerous."

Bond, who missed the majority of the tour match against the Rest of South Africa at Benoni, said he was confident of playing at Centurion after a satisfying net session. "I've had a bit of a break and I've had a cortisone injection. There was still a bit of a niggle when I bowled in the nets this morning, but that's no real problem."

He emphasised that he wasn't targeting any individuals in the opposition and refused to get dragged into any verbal banters with the South African players. The previous series between the two sides, in New Zealand, witnessed some unpleasant verbal exchanges, and Bond expected the South Africans to hit back hard: "I'm sure there will be some verbals and some hostile moments, but I tend to be a spectator when those things are going on."

Chris Martin, another fast bowler, echoed the same feelings. "There's been no discussion about attacking certain individuals or certain egos," he said. "I don't think that's been part of the plan we used in the past. There's generally a little bit of friction between the two teams, but I don't think either side really focuses on individuals."