Enigmatic Jesse Ryder Only Ray of Hope for Black Caps

In the recent times there has been a lot of criticism for the New Zealand cricket team. Though they won the Rugby World Cup this year but their cricket team has been in tatters. The days of Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns have passed by and the new generation seems to be taking an awfully long time to cope up with the pressures of international cricket. Many experts have doomed the Kiwis and feel that dearth of talent in the domestic circuit is a reason for their recent poor showing. Indeed New Zealand being a small nation does not have a high ratio of players and selectors have a hard time picking their best team. In these bleak days of New Zealand cricket the only ray of hope is Jesse Ryder. The burly opening batsman has impressed cricket lovers all over the world with his aggressive and purposeful batting.

Jesse Ryder is Well Known for his Strokeplay

He broke into the cricketing arena with his impressive performances for New Zealand U-19. But his selection to the national team remained in doubts due to his weight issues. Adam Parore claimed that Jesse was too fat and not fit for playing international games. But the chief selector Richard Hadlee wanted to infuse this fresh talent into the New Zealand set up. He was selected to play in a T20 match against Bangladesh but could not take field due to injury. Finally he wore the black caps shirt when England toured New Zealand in 2008. He showed average performance in the two T20 scoring 22 and 12. But his score of 79 not out in the ODI made him an instant star. In the second ODI against England he alongside Brendan McCullum set up a record for any wicket against England by scoring 165 in 18.1 overs. But his stint with the national team ended when he cut his hand while trying to break into a toilet at a Christchurch bar after winning the series against England. He suffered severe hand injury and was criticised severely for such an irresponsible behavior.

Jesse Ryder after Injuring his hand in a brawl at bar

He returned back to the Kiwi side during the tour of Bangladesh in 2008-09. He made an unimpressive test debut scoring 1 and 38 in the two innings of first test. But in the second test he redeemed himself with scores of 91 and 39 not out. He was found guilty of drinking and missing the training sessions against West Indies and was dropped from the 4^th ODI team. After this incident Jesse promised to tame down and results showed soon. During the Indian tour Jesse was the star of the Kiwi team. He was the man of the match in the third and fifth ODI. His first ODI century came in the third match and he achieved it off 72 balls becoming the third fastest ODI century scorer for New Zealand. He even shone with the ball picking up key wickets. He became a regular opening partner of Brendan McCullum. In the subsequent test he further enhanced his reputation with a century in the first test (102) and a double century in second test (201). But he played no significant part in 2009 ICC World Twenty20 due to a groin injury. In the following years he has not had too many contributions to boast about.

Jesse Ryder is a nagging Military Medium Bowler Too

One of the prime concerns for Jesse Ryder through his short career has been injuries. Just when he looks to be in full flow he picks up an injury and gets sidelined. He has a special liking for India out of his 3 test centuries all have been scored against India and one ODI century is also recorded against the same opposition.  If he can be consistent and injury free he will be a great addition for New Zealand team.

Jesse Ryder During the Record Partnership with Brendan McCullum

BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	16	29	2	1211	201	44.85	2208	54.84	3	6	137	6	10	0
ODIs	37	31	1	1094	107	36.46	1212	90.26	2	6	114	31	13	0
T20Is	19	18	1	360	62	21.17	293	122.86	0	2	37	14	5	0

BOWLING AVERAGES

Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10 Tests 16 15 492 280 5 2/7 2/15 56.00 3.41 98.4 0 0 0 ODIs 37 18 383 399 11 3/29 3/29 36.27 6.25 34.8 0 0 0 T20Is 19 5 60 68 2 1/2 1/2 34.00 6.80 30.0 0 0 0

Coming of Age of New Zealand

Known to cricketing world as the Kiwis, they were never a team of superstars such as their neighbours Australia or India, but they were a competitive lot never to be undermined. Apart from Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe and Danny Morrison not many more Kiwis got the cult status in the cricketing world. One of the major positives of this team was their team play. They believed they could do well with the collective contributions of all the players. Then came the era of light when a group of superstars in the likes of Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, etc. Stephen Fleming went on to become the most successful captain of New Zealand with the able help of his counterparts. This was a time when they challenged any team in the world and often defeated the best teams in the world with ease. 

Greatbatch and Patel Catalysts of Success in 92

Kiwis came into the limelight with their stellar performances during eth 1992 World Cup. Martin Crowe and his unusual tactics became famous world over and they took many teams by surprise. Dipak Patel, the wily off spinner opened the bowling for New Zealand on the bouncy and pace filled tracks of Australia and New Zealand. Many teams found it hard to plan. On the batting front Mark Greatbatch with his flamboyant stroke play went on a merciless assault on the opponent bowlers. Many see this tactics as the evolution of Sanath Jayasuriya and pinch-hitting at the top of the ODI innings. Talented batsmen such as Martin Crowe and John Wright led the way on the batting front. They stormed into the semi-finals where their progress was halted by the eventual winners Pakistan. Martin Crowe finished as the leading run scorer in the competition. 

Kiwis had Successful Campaign in 99

After this success New Zealand took up another unusual step, they named Lee Germon the captain of New Zealand national team and provided him with a bunch of uncapped talents. Lee Germon himself uncapped could not quite live upto the expectations of the selectors. As is said some risks don’t come off. They failed in the 1996 World Cup. Stephen Fleming was named the captain of the Kiwi team. He restored pride in the team. Players such as Dion Nash, Roger Twose, Craig McMillan and Chris Cairns came up and made it count. While Chris Cairns was at his destructive best in the end over, Nathan Astle gave solid opening to the Kiwis. Geoff Allot with his potent Yorkers ably guided by Dion Nash produced results on the bowling front. After an inspiring display they made it into the semi-finals but their progress was again halted by the Pakistan team. They had to settle for semi-final losers spot over again. 

Stephen Fleming in Action in 2007 World Cup

They had a bad time of it in 2003 World Cup crashing out of the super six stages. In the 2007 edition they went onto reach the semi-finals again and met the same fate. They were defeated by Sri Lanka. Though the team looked lacklustre in the 2011 World Cup but they reached the semi-finals all the same. 

New Bunch will have to Gel Together

In the aftermath of the World Cup Daniel Vettori stepped down as the captain of the national team. He has also decided to play least cricket in national colours. He is one of the leading left arm spinners of all time and his absence will be felt dearly. Though some fresh faces have come in such as southpaw Tim Southee and batsman Kane Williamson, but they are still to be tested many a times. Many New Zealand cricket fans felt that Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder have the makings of great batsmen but they have been very inconsistent and failed in the crunch situations. Though Vettori had been a capable leader in the last few years but he got least support from a team still growing up. Hope that Ross Taylor, recently appointed the captain of the New Zealand team and the experienced coach in John Wright can make this team blossom and then become a team of world beaters over again.