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Jesse Ryder,
the New Zealand batsman, has kept the door open for a return to
international cricket for the visit of England which begins with
Twenty20 internationals in early February.
Ryder, who was dropped
after an incident during the one-day series against South Africa last
year and has not played since, has a meeting with the coach Mike Hesson
on January 29 after the squad return from the tour of South Africa.
Ryder said he wanted to take himself out
of consideration for the side for a period of time while he worked on
various "issues" although he did play in the IPL. This domestic season
he has been in impressive form for Wellington in all forms of the game;
he has made 558 runs at 69.75 in five Plunket Shield matches, including
three hundreds, and has amassed 508 runs in 10 innings during the HRV
Cup at a strike rate of 167.65
"There is a meeting on the 29th coming up when the coach is back so
we'll see how that goes," Ryder told New Zealand radio station LiveSport. "I'm definitely not ruled out for a return for England."
And Ryder, 28, confirmed he still has the desire to play in Test cricket
as well as the shorter formats of the game. "Definitely all forms,
especially Test cricket. That's the main goal for me to be a consistent
Test player."
Without going into specifics about what he has dealt with over the last
10 months, Ryder believes he will now be able to cope with whatever
pressures the game throws at him.
"I think I'll be fine," he said. "I've had a good 11 months off and
worked on a lot of stuff...you're always going to have your failures in
cricket. Hopefully I can be a little bit more consistent once I get back
to the international stage."
The return of an in-form, and focussed, Ryder would strengthen a brittle
New Zealand middle order which was harshly exposed in the two-Test
series against South Africa. Ryder has played 18 Tests for New Zealand
after making his debut in 2008 and averages 40.93 with a top score of
201. His stop-start international career, hindered by injury and
discipline problems, has also restricted him to 39 ODIs and 20
Twenty20s.
Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, was in no doubt that he
wanted Ryder back in the side but that the comeback should not be
rushed.
"We would love to have Jesse in our team. He's got some issues that he's
dealing with at the moment and he's making progress. But when he's fit
and healthy and fine in his own space and performing as he is back home
he'll be a vital member of the team."
Ross Taylor, the former captain who also took time away from the team
after his controversial sacking, is expected to return for the matches
against England. New Zealand were also missing Tim Southee and Daniel
Vettori from a first-choice Test side for the series in South Africa.
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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