He has been the second most destructive bowler in New Zealand cricket history, but it has been an unsatisfactory, messy end to Shane Bond's international career.
There could hardly be a starker contrast between his swansong and that of New Zealand's most successful bowler, Sir Richard Hadlee.
Hadlee was knighted for his services to cricket in 1990 and had a triumphant farewell tour of England that year, taking a wicket with his last ball at test level.
Bond is playing out his career, out of sight to the New Zealand public, in the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League, bowling a maximum four overs a spell for the Delhi Giants in what many regard as little more than hit-and-giggle cricket.
There was speculation this week, since discounted, of a truce between the ICL and the Indian board of control, which would have made him eligible for New Zealand again, but Bond more or less ruled out any chance of a return to the Black Caps.
He's 33 now, he's battled injury throughout his career which is now, almost literally, limping to a close.
No fond farewells for Bond. He played his last one-day international in the World Cup in the Caribbean in April last year and his last test against South Africa in Johannesburg last November.
Then he signed for the ICL, his contract was terminated by New Zealand Cricket and his international career was effectively over.
You can't help feeling some sympathy for Bond in all this. He was upfront about the deal and kept NZC fully informed and yet he was summarily cast aside.
A few months later, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Kyle Mills, Stephen Fleming and Scott Styris, with the backing of NZC, signed for the lucrative Indian Premier League.
There was an immediate snag with the forthcoming tour of England but, eventually, a compromise was reached which enabled five Black Caps to have the best of both worlds--to play in the IPL and join the team in time for the first time at Lord's.
Common sense had to prevail, and it did, but what if NZC had refused the five permission to miss the build-up games in England and, as a consequence, their big pay packets from the IPL? It was fortunate Vettori and his mates were spared the choice of country versus money.
Had Bond bided his time and waited, he would have been offered a contract by the IPL and remained within the New Zealand system.
His mistake, if it was that, was to accept the first offer.
It is a lame end to a career which, between injuries, gave New Zealand cricket some of its greatest moments--79 wickets in 17 tests (average 22.39) and 125 wickets in 67 one-dayers (average 19.32).
His strike rate in tests and one-dayers was phenomenal, among the best of all bowlers from all countries.
It was his body which let him down.
One day we'll probably read the inside story for, if there is one thing New Zealand cricketers are good at, it is writing books (or having books written) about their careers.
How else do you explain that there have been 22 (at least) books on New Zealand cricketers since the 1980s?
It's a long and not altogether distinguished list: Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris and Lance Cairns, Adam Parore, Ian Smith, Jeremy Coney, John Wright, Hadlee, Glenn Turner, Martin Crowe, Mark Richardson, Danny Morrison, Chris Pringle, Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen, Ken Rutherford, Mark Greatbatch, Vettori, Fleming, Ewen Chatfield and Geoff Howarth.
Only Hadlee, Turner, Crowe and arguably Chris Cairns of that group were genuine world-class players, although I rate Wright's autobiography, Christmas in Rarotonga, the best book written about a New Zealand cricketer.
Bond, in the all-too-brief time that he was fully fit, was definitely world-class and a good guy as well.
I doubt, if and when he reflects on his career in book form, that it will include the discontent and even bitterness which have marked some of the recent literary offerings.
