No free Ryders for New Zealand in World Cup

Controversial batsman left out of New Zealand’s 30-man squad

WELLINGTON: Troubled batsman Jesse Ryder’s chequered past came back to haunt him yesterday when New Zealand selectors left him out of a preliminary 30-man World Cup squad.

The 30-year-old is regarded as one of the Black Caps’ few match-winners but his career has been littered with alcohol-fuelled incidents and chief selector Bruce Edgar said New Zealand were not prepared to gamble on him for the tournament.

He said the final straw was when Ryder was handed a chance to come back into the national team by participating in a New Zealand A tour to Dubai last month but withdrew at the last minute citing personal reasons. “When he pulled out he left us with no real information about him, thus we didn’t have enough conviction to warrant his selection,” Edgar told Fairfax Media.

The squad features all the players currently facing Pakistan on tour in the UAE, including spinner Daniel Vettori. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th,  2014.

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