Kiwi Jesse Ryder's Ireland career lasted only two matches but he left an indelible imprint on Irish cricket in 2007, or to be more precise on those who follow the Irish game with a passion. Jesse's greatest faut-pas was not the fact that he contributed virtually nothing in both those games, but the fact that he failed to turn up for the third game and was rightly told not to bother for the next. Thus ended one of the shortest 'hired gun' initiatives from the Ireland camp, but to those who know the enigmatic New Zealander much better, the controversial circumstances came as no surprise to a cricketer whose budding career has been blighted by poor judgment and frequent self destruction.
Jesse Ryder has been described as a one-time 'enfant terrible' of New Zealand cricket and his rise to test status has been something of a minor sensation given his turbulent past. And he hardly looks the picture for one-day cricket with his heavy build and bulging waistline, but in many ways cometh the hour cometh the man for the troubled Kiwi cricket team.
Despite his flawed background, this guy can bat and bowl pretty well and although not a gazelle, he's fairly good around the field despite his generous girth. The fact that he has been warmly welcomed into the New Zealand cricket fold has more to do with some high profile defections to the Indian League, a couple of premature retirements and the loss of form of some key players.This has left the Kiwi national squad in some disarray, a compete transformation from 12 months ago when many experts fancied them to win the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
It has all gone sour since but as their game cried out for a new impetus, Ryder's call up was surprisingly predicted by none other than the great Sir Richard Hadlee, and with such an endorsement it was never likely to be challenged. Even the once dubious fans were quickly won over and although 31 from 50 balls on his ODI debut was hardly sensational, some of his shots were belligerent and outrageous, and that's where he could eventually earn cult status for a cricketing nation crying out for a new icon.
New Zealand hammered the Poms in the first ODI and followed it up with an even more emphatic ten wicket victory in Hamilton with Ryder scoring 79 not out and winning the Man-of-the-Match accolade. He still has his skeptics but they are having to eat their words and even the pompous English commentators are starting to have second thoughts on his ability. Two heavy ODI defeats has seen the England team fast lose its status as favorites on this tour and some sections of the media are already calling them a bunch of over-rated prima donnas.
Their demise is hardly going to worry Jesse Ryder as he finally seems to have matured and grasped the opportunity that his loyal supporters have always felt lay tantalizingly within his grasp. At long last focus and application appear to have arrived in Ryder's cricket dictionary.
Understandably this may not appease his erstwhile Irish fans but every dog has his day and let's forgive and forget and appreciate a rare talent. Despite his meteoric rise Ryder still has his feet firmly on the ground, not least because there are plenty of doubters out there expecting him to fall, not least a few Kiwi supporters at Wellington who held high a banner that was a ghostly reminder of a troubled past; "JESSE RYDER'S FAVOURITE SHOT-TEQUILA"
Hopefully this talented Kiwi has turned the corner in his erratic cricketing career and his performances will do the talking in the future!
Good luck Jesse Ryder.
Clarence Hiles
Christ Church
14 February 2008
