Ryder to miss match; Sinclair called in

Jesse Ryder will miss tomorrow’s one-day international against the West Indies after being left out of the team because of inadequate preparation.

 

Ryder missed a team meeting on Thursday morning and was not able to train yesterday afternoon in Auckland following a late night of drinking in Wellington.

 

Ryder later faced a disciplinary hearing where he was fined for his failure to attend both the team meeting and training.

 

Justin Vaughan, CEO of New Zealand Cricket, said: “We are all disappointed that this has happened. Since February last year, we have witnessed encouraging signs from Jesse both on and off the park. These vast improvements meant Jesse was recently given more latitude in his personal decision making.

 

“In hindsight, this was premature. However while it is a drinking-related issue, it does not compare with last February in its severity,” he said.

 

Ryder apologised to the team at training today. “I have not only let myself down, but also my teammates, support team and the cricket fans in general.

 

“I thought I had reached the point where I could control my drinking better, but that is obviously not the case. I am only now starting to appreciate the size of the challenge that I face. I am totally committed to overcoming this problem and understand I will have to work even harder with the support group around me,” he said.

 

Mathew Sinclair comes into the team for this match and will bat at No. 3.