Ryder stays with Black Caps after cousin dies in crash

Jesse Ryder's cousin Lucan died in a car accident in Waikato on Saturday. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Black Caps all-rounder Jesse Ryder has decided to stay with the team in England heading into the Twenty20 World Cup this week while grieving the loss of his cousin in a horrific car smash at the weekend.

Four people died and three were injured after the head-on collision on State Highway 30, in Waikato, on Saturday.

Among the dead was Ryder's cousin Lucan Ryder, 29, his partner Patricia Matthews, 30, and their daughter Monique Ryder, nine.

They were all in one car, in which the couple's other two children were also injured.

One woman in the other car died and a man was injured.

Ryder was given the option of returning home to grieve but he decided to stay with the team, who open their campaign against Scotland on Saturday night, manager Aaron Klee told The Dominion Post.

- NZPA