Cricket: Ryder to play for Essex; keen to return to Otago

Jesse Ryder
Jesse Ryder
Former Black Cap Jesse Ryder will spend the New Zealand winter plying his trade with England county cricket side Essex but is expected to re-sign with Otago.

Otago Cricket Association chief executive Ross Dykes said he had spoken with Ryder earlier in the week and the talented left-hander indicated he would like to return next summer.

''I would anticipate he will be back here and hopefully be available for Otago,'' Dykes said.

''I spoke to him yesterday again and he indicated he was pretty keen to come back.

''I think he is really relishing the opportunity to carry on with his good form [in Essex]. He was pretty keen to play some sort of cricket over the winter and this is a perfect opportunity for him.''

Ryder, who will join Essex early next month, was dropped from the Black Caps test squad after it was revealed he went out drinking with team-mate Doug Bracewell on the eve of the first test against India earlier this year.

Essex chief executive Derek Bowden told Newstalk ZB the club was aware of Ryder's poor discipline record but believed he would be a good fit.

''On one hand it's a change of scenery and if Jesse is absolutely focused on repairing the past, as it were, and getting back into the test side, then there's no better place to do it,'' he told Newstalk ZB.

''He's had some issues in the past. They can't be repeated.

''We've pretty much got a zero tolerance policy towards all of that. If he's open with us, we'll be open with him. As a cricketer he has a lot to offer.''

Ryder was named Otago cricketer of the year for a terrific season which included four first-class hundreds and two one-day hundreds. He also scored a 46-ball one-day hundred for the Black Caps in Queenstown.

Add a Comment

OUTSTREAM