Cricket: Ryder storms back to form

At just 20 years of age Jesse Ryder has seen the swings of good fortune. He's also seen the sort of reverse swing even Glenn McGrath can't master.

Hailed as the next Martin Crowe as a pure-striking 18-year-old, Ryder was almost as prematurely dismissed as a cricketing malcontent a year later.

There were real fears that this phenomenon was going to become one of New Zealand cricket's great underachievers. Now, with a career-high 236 under his belt last week, the fear has turned to hope that by the end of this year he'll be playing his cricket under the cap his talent demands - the Black Cap.

"It was an awesome feeling," Ryder said of his double ton before heading to Otago for the latest round of the State Championship. "I've made starts and haven't gone on. It's just patience really."

Patience is an appropriate word.

It is something Central Districts ran out of during a 2003-04 season that saw Ryder hit the headlines for his exploits outside the boundary.

Although he scored an unbeaten 114 in his first season of first-class cricket and 181 for New Zealand Academy on tour in Australia, Ryder's reputation for carousing was growing as fast as his reputation as the cleanest striker of the ball since a certain MD Crowe.

At one stage the Players' Association was called in to represent Ryder after a late-night incident got him offside with CD management, who felt he was becoming unmanageable and censured him.

Ryder is happy to let bygones be gone but it is obvious there is still some resentment.

"At times it was blown out of proportion," he said. "Quite a bit of it was actually but that's all right. It's in the past and I've come here [to Wellington] to make a fresh start.

"I'm not too worried now. At the time I was a bit pissed off but there wasn't much I could do about it. I'm heaps better down here - I've grown up quite a bit."

Mark Greatbatch was CD coach at the time and a big Ryder fan. He said Ryder could be as good as he wanted to be but: "His attitude wasn't as good as it should've been. One problem was that there's been a lot of hype around Jesse. It's been an educational process for him."

It was an education Ryder felt was better served in Wellington. The question was whether Wellington would take the risk?

"He was young with immense talent," Cricket Wellington chief executive Ervin McSweeney said.

"In terms of risk, some may have said he had issues with CD but I didn't get into that.

"He was a young guy learning his way in the world and in the game. There are always certain risks but nothing we saw as a problem. We thought we could provide a good, supportive environment."

And that doesn't mean mollycoddling. McSweeney is at pains to point out Ryder does not have 'minders', for want of a better word, monitoring his social life.

"The guy's 20. When I was 20 late nights were part of the picture. Obviously the game's evolved and has disciplines and he's obligated towards the team. He understands that. Part of growing up as a cricketer is growing up itself. A lot of people make mistakes in life," McSweeney said.

On the field, Ryder grew up a lot in Palmerston North over the space of a day last week.

"I struggled early on," he admitted. "I had 55 from 158 balls, I think, which is not really me. After that it was pretty good."

For the future, the signs are "pretty good" too. In one knock, people are starting to ask John Bracewell when, not if, Ryder will be blooded in black.

"I'll take it as it comes," Ryder says, laughing at the prospect. "It's a goal but when it comes it comes. I try not to look too far ahead."

He might need to look just around the corner though.

This Australian tour may have created scars that need more than a Band-Aid. Few batsmen can claim a mortgage on their position and Bracewell won't want to be in a situation where adequate replacements haven't been groomed.

Of the next tier, Peter Fulton, James Marshall and Ross Taylor look the most promising. In terms of pure talent Ryder might have the edge, though he would admit his fitness probably lags behind them.

Ryder learned his cricket in Wairarapa before moving to Napier Boys' High School. He has a well-developed back-foot technique that will serve him well at a higher level but will probably mean a lack of consistency at domestic level early in the season, when the ball jags around and keeps low (though he still averages close to 50).

"I'm definitely more of a back-foot player," Ryder said. "I'm not sure why but I've always been a bit dodgy on the front foot."

He bowls, too, which Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson has been working on. "He's [Johnson] been great for me. He's worked on my action and looked after me."

But you get the feeling Ryder is learning to look after himself.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY