Jesse Ryder has his weekend all figured out.
It could include a contrasting sporting double. He will meet blogger Cameron Slater in a charity boxing bout as part of the Super 8 card in Christchurch tomorrow night, (sat) while his former teammates will contest the Cricket World Cup final against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.
"I think the way the boys are playing at the moment, they're going to smash that final," Ryder said. "So I'm really looking forward to parking up on Sunday after the fight."
Ryder, who shared in his collection of blockbusting partnerships with Brendon McCullum, said that when the Black Caps skipper was in full flight there were few better players in the game.
"It's awesome to watch. I think it fills you with a lot of confidence and takes a lot of pressure off you as well."
Ryder could have been part of New Zealand's charge to final but he seems content that things have gone down a different path. The talented 30-year-old said there was a chance he could pull on a black cap again in the future.
"I'm not too sure. I've always said you never know. If things are going well and there's a spot there, you never know."
Ryder missed Otago's ongoing Plunket Shield clash against Canterbury due to tomorrow's bout and won't play in their final game against Auckland next week after he was suspended for dissent in a match against Northern Districts recently.
His next cricketing engagement will be with Essex in England where he has signed a two-year deal with the county side.
He weighed-in at 103kg today for his bout with Slater (104kg). The blogger has lost 17kg during his training camp, while Ryder admitted he hadn't done an extensive amount of boxing training recently due to a heavy diet of cricket.
"In between games I try and cram as much as I can in," the all-rounder said.
Meanwhile, the draw for the Super 8 cruiserweight elimination tournament also took place at today's weigh-ins.
Heavy favourite Brian Minto (39-8) will meet New Zealand's Monty Filimaea (10-11-1) in his quarter-final, while Australia Daniel Ammann (30-8-1) will face Samoa's Farani Tavui (4-0).
Israel Adesanya (0-1) will tackle Asher Derbyshire (7-1) in an all-Kiwi affair, while Pahiatua shepherd Lance Bryant (3-1) will fight Fijian Joseph Kwadjo (21-8). All fighters in the Super 8 were under the 90.7kg cruiserweight mark as were Monty Betham (6-1) and former English cricketer Adam Hollioake (2-1) who will meet in a six-round bout.
There were some issues with Vaitele Soi, who will challenge the 17-7-1 Anthony McCracken (89.8kg) for a collection of regional cruiserweight titles, as he missed weight by 400g.
The New Zealand-trained Soi (24-1) had another two hours to shed the excess weight and eventually tipped in at 90.5kg, meaning the headline bout will go ahead as planned.
In the opening fight on tomorrow's card, Kiwi heavyweight prospect Hemi Ahio (4-0) tipped the scales at 103kg, while opponent Clarence Tillman (11-19-2) was 127kg.
by Daniel Richardson of NZME. News service
