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<\/p>\nFast, fearsome, and fragile were words often associated with former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, whose promising cricket career was drastically curtailed by injury.<\/p>\n
He debuted as a 26-year-old against Australia in Hobart in 2001, but it was in his next series, against Bangladesh, where he truly announced himself.<\/p>\n
He took 11 wickets in two Tests at an average of 13, and it looked like the beginning of a long and lucrative career.<\/p>\n
But Bond’s back had other ideas. A stress fracture kept him out the game for almost two years from 2003.<\/p>\n
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Shane Bond is considered “patient zero” after his successful back surgery allowed him to continue his international career. (Phil Walter: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
A meeting with back surgeon Grahame Inglis offered him hope he could overcome his injury by undergoing a little-known surgery that is now commonplace in the fast bowling fraternity.<\/p>\n
“If I can’t fix this, then the career is potentially over,” Bond said of his decision to undergo pars stabilisation surgery in 2004.<\/p>\n
“He [Inglis] talked about a procedure that he had done, one on a New Zealand high jumper and one other athlete.<\/p>\n
“He thought that the chances I came back and bowled fast were slim, but … I was prepared to give it a go.”<\/p>\n
While other injuries limited Bond to just 14 more Tests before he retired in 2009, his back didn’t trouble him again.<\/p>\n
Last surgeon standing<\/p>\n
Renowned New Zealand spinal surgeon Rowan Schouten was working with Dr Inglis at the time and said Bond was “patient zero in this whole story.”<\/p>\n
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Bond took 147 ODI wickets, including a stunning hat-trick against Australia at Bellerive Oval in 2007. (AAP Image\/Andrew Cornaga)<\/p>\n
The success of that surgery laid the groundwork for a procedure that Schouten and his team have now performed on around 30 professional cricketers.<\/p>\n
When surgeons in the UK stopped performing the procedure and Dr Inglis retired, Dr Schouten became the world’s leading authority on repairing spinal stress fractures in fast bowlers.<\/p>\n
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Rowan Schouten says pars stabilisation surgery isn’t a new procedure, but has recently become popular with cricketers. (Supplied: rowanschouten.co.nz)<\/p>\n
“We were kind of left as the last man standing with experience on international fast bowlers and since then it’s taken off essentially,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We’re dealing with calls and connections from all around the world, from the UK, India, South Africa, Europe, Bangladesh, everywhere.”<\/p>\n
Bond still helps fast bowlers who have struggled with back issues and is often approached for advice.<\/p>\n
He’s coached Jofra Archer, Jason Behrendorff and James Pattinson, who all had the surgery and returned to play at the top level.<\/p>\n
What is pars stabilisation surgery?<\/p>\n
When a fast bowler is considering spinal surgery, like Australia’s Lance ‘Wild Thing’ Morris did in 2025, it sounds like a drastic step.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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But Dr Schouten said the surgery was straightforward and “not that extreme”.<\/p>\n
It involves grafting the spine to stimulate repair, before putting screws and wires around the injured portion to provide stability.<\/p>\n
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