Cricket: Jesse Ryder's latest meltdown

Jesse Ryder fronted up to New Zealand Cricket of his own accord. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand Cricket general manager Geoff Allott knew Jesse Ryder faced another potential battle over his booze demons, several days before the failed fitness test which scuppered his chances of touring Sri Lanka.

Allott says Ryder contacted him to say an incident may have occurred which would require further investigation by NZC.

It came at the indoor cricket regional championships in Christchurch during the first week of July when Ryder was playing for the Central team.

Ryder's team and members of other sides at the tournament were alleged to have engaged in raucous and drunken behaviour one night at the team hotel.

"Jesse did bring it to our attention but it remained a serious matter," Allott said.

"I was aware on the Friday [July 16] before his fitness test [July 21]. We worked through a process and patched together some details but those people conducting the fitness test had no idea. It had no influence on the decision to keep him back from Sri Lanka.

"Other matters then came to light. The following week, we did further investigation and created a formal process which culminated in him being fined."

No one will say how much Ryder has been penalised. It comes in the wake of his move down the national player contracts list this season, losing up to four places - or $24,000 - under the soon-to-be-updated contract agreement between New Zealand Cricket and the Players Association. He is still ranked in the top 10. His contract downgrading was also said to have been nothing to do with this latest incident.

Ryder is contrite but believes he still suffers from the infamy of his hand-through-the-glass-window affair in February 2008 - again in Christchurch - after the one-day series win over England. Ryder has not been in any publicised drunken incident since playing for Bangalore at last April-May's Indian Premier League in South Africa.

"There do seem to be times when I get blamed for half of it. But there is no point arguing the fact I had been drinking. I didn't know anything was going down until two weeks later when I heard that someone who was staying at the hotel had sent a letter of complaint [to New Zealand Cricket]."

So a period of time had elapsed before Ryder fronted up but Allott said they gave him some benefit of the doubt.

Clauses in Ryder's contract will now be amended to carry stricter obligations relating to alcohol consumption and behaviour blowouts. It is effectively the last chance for the enigmatic Wellington talent.

That contrasts with comments Black Caps performance director Roger Mortimer made to the Herald on Sunday last week. He said Ryder was under no more supervision than his colleagues when training during the off-season in Wellington, despite his publicised problems.

The consensus was that he should be treated as an adult, so there was no need to interfere. It appears that will now change.

"Jesse accepts that and understands the potential consequences. He's clear on where he stands and what we're trying to achieve," Allott said. "It is important to be fair to the rest of the team. We can't have inconsistencies in the way we treat players. That may mean making sacrifices."

One argument suggests NZC have been in a state of perpetual compromise with Ryder which has led to an apologist stance. Players Association boss Heath Mills says NZC is doing all it can under the circumstances.

"They are remaining relatively firm but aren't going to support any further instance of alcohol-related misconduct.

"If that happens again, their support will not be what it has been. The one person who suffers the most here is Jesse. It means fewer opportunities for him to score runs, take wickets or earn income.

"The shame of it is Jesse has been making some genuine gains, training hard and getting fitter. He just has to be responsible for his actions. The trouble is those who hang out with him also need to take some responsibility and reflect on their roles in his life."

Ryder's manager Aaron Klee commits time and resources to get Jesse right. An incident like this shatters that hard work.

"I'm not naive, I know Jesse is not going to turn into a saint instantaneously but no one is giving up on him."

There remains pressure for NZC to keep giving him a safety net so a player of such prodigious talent does not slip into oblivion. Ryder has played NZC's game - at least for now - with the latest truce: "It's a good thing to keep me in line and try to get me focused. I stand to lose a lot otherwise."

Ryder says his right elbow is now at 70-80 per cent fitness compared to the 20-30 per cent of a month ago.

His next chance of an international recall is for the Bangladesh tour next month, followed by a full tour of India in November-December.