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South Australia were denied a place in the final when they lost in the last over against ACT

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2021For the first time in the competition’s 25-year history, New South Wales will not appear in the final of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL).Their last league match against Queensland in Sydney was abandoned without a ball bowled removing any chance they had of finishing in the top two.Queensland then clung onto second place in the table, to play Victoria in the final on March 27, when ACT pulled off a last-over chase against South Australia to deny them the victory which would have booked their spot in the decider.New South Wales had appeared in every final (or finals series) since the tournament began in 1996-97, winning 20 of the 24 titles with one of their final losses coming last season against Western Australia meaning this is the first time they have gone back-to-back seasons without claiming the title.They made a poor start to the competition with losses in their first two games against Victoria then had a tie against Tasmania before three wins in a row kept them in the hunt. However, a heavy defeat against Queensland in Sydney two days ago ultimately proved costly.”The group’s proud of a lot of things we’ve achieved this year, it’s been such a tough year with Covid,” stand-in captain Sammy-Jo Johnson said. “We’ve done so many training sessions, the group’s had people come and go, there’s so many good things we’ve taken from this year.”To look towards next year it’s such a big positive that we’ll see some similar faces around the squad and hopefully push to get back in the final.”There have been a record number of centuries scored in this season’s tournament with Victoria’s Elyse Villani leading the way with three. Notably, 12 of the 16 centuries have come from players not currently in the Australia set-up.”Some new players have put their hands up with centuries and that’s something we speak about, about dominating the game you play and hundreds in one-day cricket are game-changing,” Australia captain Meg Lanning said last week. “It’s been great to see a number of new players doing that.”I think it’s just the overall professionalism of the game, people are training more, we’ve got access to better coaches and better facilities. Just being able to put all our effort into trying to get better as cricketers, I think that’s the reason there’s been really good performances being put out on the board.”Victoria have lost six players to Australia duty along with the injured Annabel Sutherland while Queensland will be without Beth Mooney and Jess Jonassen.

Jacqueline Hey, Cricket Australia’s first-ever female board director, has pledged to do a “damn good job” running the game

Daniel Brettig25-Oct-2012Jacquie Hey, Cricket Australia’s first-ever female board director, has pledged to do a “damn good job” running the game, stating her desire to smooth the path for other women to follow her into what had for 107 years been a pale, stale and male world of cricket governance.Formally sworn in as part of CA’s streamlined board at the AGM on Thursday, Hey joined the Rio Tinto Australia managing director David Peever and the former Colorado Group chief executive Kevin Roberts as fresh sets of eyes in the boardroom. Hey’s background is with Sony Ericsson, while she is currently a director on the boards of Bendigo Bank and SBS.The trio form part of a board that is the result of the Crawford/Carter review of Australian cricket governance, which pushed CA to abandon the tired federal model of a 14-man board that had remained more or less unchanged since 1905.Irrespective of compelling business credentials, it was Hey’s admission as the first female board member that felt most significant, and she acknowledged with some pride that another avenue had now been opened for women.”I’m so proud and privileged and honoured to be given this role,” Hey said. “It’s deep inside me that I really feel how important this is, and how important that I do a damn good job, because I want to make sure that I’m not the first and only, but I’m the first of many women that are involved in administration and board roles in cricket.”There are some at the state level already, which is fantastic. So I’m here, I’m on show and I will do a good job and make sure there are many more women following me.”Hey’s love for the game is deep, fostered by a childhood spent playing beach cricket with her father and brother on the Victorian coast south of Geelong. An avowed lover of Test cricket, she confessed to clearing her schedule at times in order to watch five days of the game’s enduring form, and winced at the memory of Australia’s 2005 Ashes loss when she was working with Ericsson in England – and copping a predictable level of banter.”I think it is important to have the three [formats],” she said. “If I look at myself, I’ve grown up with Test cricket, day one of a Test match, if I’m not at the ground it’s like ‘don’t disturb me, because I’m sitting on my couch and I’m watching’. But I have a son who’s nearly nine, and he doesn’t have the attention span to sit for five days and watch it, but he will love to get involved in T20, the colours and the music and so on. So I think it is really important that we continue to maintain that balance, because there are different cricketing sectors out there who do appreciate different types of the game, and some who appreciate all of them.”The new, nine-person board begins its tenure at a time when CA are negotiating a new round of local media rights. While the incumbent – and cash-strapped – Nine Network has the luxury of an exclusive negotiating period, other suitors may well be found for the Twenty20 Big Bash League. Hey’s background with Ericsson and more recent experience with SBS gives her an insight into the rights issue, especially those in the burgeoning digital field. Previously CA’s digital content was made available through 3 Mobile and Vodafone, but with their sponsorship agreement coming to an end it may be time for a new approach.”I think with sport generally these days, and you can go back a long way, the content has always been the key thing in a digital environment,” Hey said. “So clever companies develop all sorts of websites and all sorts of interactions for ways to deal with customers, but the content has always been at the centre of that.”So I think for CA the challenge, looking at it from the outside in as a technology person, is you own a fabulous amount of content there, so what does CA do with it. They have a large number of options open to them, which I know is something they’re thinking about. They have a fantastic website today which is really engaging, bright and colourful and informative and that’s a good start … there’s a lot more they could do.”As for CA’s stated desire to grow the game’s audience to better reflect the diversity of 21st century Australia, Hey can see enough evidence of strong words being backed by action. Her ascension to the board is but one example, the BBL’s push away from traditional team identities and logos another.”In doing things like voting me onto the board today, they’re not just talking about it, they’re actually doing things about it,” she said. “That’s a fantastic step for females, and they’re also embracing multicultural Australia and recognising there are a lot of people coming to Australia from overseas who come from both cricketing backgrounds, for example Indians, or non-cricketing backgrounds with a lot of the African nations coming in.”But sport has always been that thing that has united people, across different cultures and different boundaries. I think it is fantastic that CA is both strategically and practically making sure they’re part of that embrace of different cultures.”

Cricket Australia has moved to revamp its strength and conditioning structure by appointing Andrew Weller to the newly created position of physical performance manager

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2012Cricket Australia has moved to revamp its strength and conditioning structure by appointing Andrew Weller to the newly created position of physical performance manager. Weller, 48, has spent the past decade working with AFL clubs and has been the high performance manager at the Gold Coast Suns for the past four years.In his new role he will oversee the strength and conditioning programmes across all Australian teams, which will mean working closely with the state associations as well as the national squads. A physical performance coach, who will be responsible for the Australia team when on tour and during their home summer, will be appointed in the coming weeks and will report to Weller.”Andrew has been at the Gold Coast Suns from the beginning and was instrumental in creating their strength and conditioning programme,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager, team performance, said. “Previous to this he was the rehabilitation manager at the St Kilda Football Club.”Andrew will be responsible for all strength and conditioning programs across all of the Australian teams, both male and female. He will be a key liaison person between these national programs and their home state programs. Andrew will implement a consistent long term delivery across all of Australian cricket working with the states, the youngest elite players all the way to the national teams.”Weller said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of working with Cricket Australia, its high performance squads and the sports science teams within the states. Over the last decade I’ve worked in AFL and I’m sure I can bring innovations from that sport to cricket as we continue to develop the high performance culture around the Australian cricket teams.”Keeping Australia’s young players – especially the fast bowlers – fit and firing will be one of the key challenges of the new physical performance manager and coach.

With Mark Wood in line for a recall in Paarl, there may only be space for one Curran in the England side

Matt Roller28-Nov-2020Tom Curran’s bowling figures – 1 for 55 in four overs – in Friday night’s game against South Africa were the sixth-most expensive in England’s T20I history. But at least none of the five men above him in that list had to walk off alongside their grinning brother after he had taken three cheap wickets.”Tom’s very competitive and is a relaxed guy, so he’ll move on pretty quickly,” Sam said after England’s five-wicket win. “T20 is a very strange game. You can bowl well and still get hit for a lot of runs, and you can bowl badly and get loads of wickets.”But in truth, Sam bowled well, and Tom bowled poorly. While Sam managed to disguise his variations, change his lengths and nail a hard length, Tom was taken to pieces in his second over by Faf du Plessis and ended up leaking 24 runs as he strayed into the slot.The upshot is that if England decide to inject Mark Wood’s pace in Sunday’s game at Paarl, it is likely to be Tom rather than Sam that makes way. If that seems unsurprising, it is evidence of the effect that the IPL has had on Sam’s reputation as a T20 player: Friday night was only his sixth T20I appearance and his first in over a year.It is quite a reversal. While Sam’s first exposure to professional cricket was in Surrey’s T20 Blast side, he has generally been considered to be the slightly better red-ball cricketer, while Tom was ahead of him in the white-ball pecking order. Now, Tom has not played a first-class game since April 2019, and is arguably a less attractive proposition in limited-overs cricket, too.Sam Curran bumps fists with Tom after England’s intra-squad warm-up – in which the younger brother dismissed the older•Getty Images

That is not to say that he has undergone any major decline. Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, evidently has faith in him, deciding to give him two powerplay overs and continuing to back him at the death even after du Plessis’ onslaught.It is worth noting, too, that he spent much of the IPL sitting on the Rajasthan Royals bench, so was not match-fresh in the way most of his team-mates were. He will return to the Big Bash League with Sydney Sixers after this tour, for whom he has played some of his best cricket, and is likely to remain very much in the England reckoning.In contrast, Sam – in recognition of his lengthy stints in the biosecure bubbles this summer – will return home after the T20I leg of this tour is complete. That speaks volumes of the strides he has made and his importance to the England set-up across formats. He received glowing reviews during his time at the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings – captain MS Dhoni labelled him “a complete cricketer” – and said that he had taken his game to “a different standard” at the tournament.ALSO READ: A victory for England, and a victory for the IPLWhile his bowling caught the eye in Friday’s series opener, Sam’s three-ball innings with the bat was just as entertaining. After being hit on the grille by a Lungi Ngidi bouncer, the first ball he faced, he lined up Kagiso Rabada to smite his second for six over long-on – evidence, perhaps, of his mischievous streak.That Sam has caught up with Tom so quickly should not come as a surprise: tennis fans, for example, will note the relative successes of the Williams and Murray siblings (in both families, the younger sibling is the superstar). There is a sociological explanation for ‘the sibling effect’, in which younger siblings enjoy more success than their older siblings, rooted in their early exposure to regular sport, the need to keep up, and psychological rivalry. As Tim Wigmore and Mark Williams write in their book : “If you have a younger sibling, they are probably better at sport than you are.”That seems to fit in the example of the Currans: Sam’s emergence as a T20 allrounder puts his brother’s England place in jeopardy. When Jofra Archer has been unavailable through injury or rest, Morgan has backed Tom Curran and Chris Jordan as their death-overs specialists, but Archer’s presence in this series means both seamers need to prove their versatility.With Wood – or Reece Topley, the tall left-armer who last played a T20I in the 2016 T20 World Cup – in contention as England look for extra pace with the new ball, there may well be room for only one Curran in this side. Sam’s advantage with the bat and his new-found ability to bowl in all three phases of an innings means that Tom finds himself looking over his shoulder.

England will consider resting some of their frontline pace attack for the final Test against West Indies having wrapped up the series with victory at Trent Bridge

Andrew McGlashan29-May-2012England will consider resting some of their frontline pace attack for the final Test against West Indies having wrapped up the series with victory at Trent Bridge. With an eye to the amount of cricket to come Andrew Strauss did not rule out giving James Anderson or Stuart Broad the match off at Edgbaston next week.It was revealed that Anderson had been carrying a minor thigh niggle during the second Test which could make him favourite for some downtime although Broad, who is Twenty20 captain, plays all three formats so finding a space in the calendar to withdraw him for a short period is difficult. Anderson has bowled 111 overs in the first two Tests, Broad 102 and Tim Bresnan 100.Following the conclusion of the Tests against West Indies there is a three-match one-day series and a Twenty20 before Australia arrive for five further ODIs; a controversial series given that the marquee clash of the summer, the Tests against South Africa, has been cut to three matches. Those three Tests will be high intensity, high pressure, affairs where England will need their main attack available.”We’ll definitely think about changes,” Strauss said. “We’ve always viewed resting and rotating as something you have to do on a case-by-case basis so we’ll speak to the seamers, see how they’re feeling and see how we’re looking for the rest of the summer.”You always have to look quite a long way ahead when it comes to potentially resting someone. It’s always a balance to strike because primarily you want to win every Test you play: that’s the starting point. We’ll have a conversation about it in the coming days.”Resting frontline bowlers who are near the top of the world rankings – Anderson is third and Broad is sixth, having dropped three places after this latest Test – will bring debate about whether it is devaluing Test cricket, but Strauss and Andy Flower will have more than one eye on the schedule over the next 18 months which includes tours to India and New Zealand and back-to-back Ashes series.It is not as though England do not have strong reserves waiting in the wings. Steven Finn has expressed his frustration at remaining on the sidelines after a brief return to the team against Sri Lanka in Colombo. He currently sits on 13 Tests, which have brought him a productive 53 wickets, and his returns in one-day cricket over the winter were hugely impressive.Graham Onions from Durham has been the other pace bowler in the squads for this series. He hasn’t played for England since January 2009 against South Africa in Cape Town – where he survived the final over to secure a draw for the second time in three matches – after which he suffered a career-threatening back injury. Consistent performances for Durham put him back in the frame and he has been around a number of squads over the last six months.”It’s a difficult situation and I certainly wouldn’t want to nail my colours to the mast one way or the other,” Strauss said. “At this stage we have to sit down, think it through rationally and decide what the best course of action is, both for the Test match and for the long-term prospects of the team over the summer.”England have set the precedent for resting key players from series. Strauss himself sat out the tour to Bangladesh in early 2010 along with Anderson while in the return contest a few months later on English soil Broad and Paul Collingwood were left out.

Visitors must find a way to draw series on most challenging of pitches, keeper says

Valkerie Baynes28-Feb-2021Expecting more of the testing conditions they faced in their hefty defeat inside two days in Ahmedabad, Ben Foakes says England will be better equipped to level the series against India in the final match, starting at the same ground on Thursday.Foakes was among a handful of players in the touring squad who trained at the Narendra Modi Stadium in on Sunday, the day the third Test was due to finish had England not been defeated by 10 wickets three days earlier. After the training session, Foakes said the Motera surface would be less of a mystery second time round and it was up to his team to work out how to fare better in conditions he described as the toughest he’d played in.Related

• Joe Root: 'A week like this doesn't define us as a team'

• Pitch debate: Kohli says 'very good', Cook and Strauss disagree

• Motera pitch could be a backhanded compliment to England

• England consider lodging ICC pitch complaint as Chris Silverwood calls on batsmen to heed lessons

“I was at training today and from the look of it I think it’ll be pretty similar,” Foakes said via Zoom. “I don’t think we’re concerned. We know what we’re going to get and I guess they’re pushing their conditions to the extremities. We know it’s going to spin considerably from ball one so it’s about trying to find a way to play well in those conditions and understand they’re going to be challenging.”The state of the pitch was the subject of much conjecture and the skiddiness of the pink ball was deemed to be a factor in a match described by Virat Kohli, the India captain, as “bizarre” after England were routed by ten wickets. The visitors collapsed to scores of 112 and 81 in their two innings, while India scarcely fared any better in their first innings, with Joe Root claiming 5 for 8 with his part-time offbreaks as batsmen found survival tough.But Foakes admitted – as his captain, Root, did immediately after the match – that England were “thoroughly outplayed”. And, while the final match will feature a return to the red ball and daytime play, Foakes said the solution for England was relatively simple as they set out to level the series 2-2.”Firstly not getting too down our ourselves after the last couple of innings,” he said. “Trying to keep a positive, clear mindset because when you’re struggling your judgement can get clouded and things can go badly. It’s about trying to keep a clear mind, stick to the gameplans and be slightly more positive at times if the situation dictates, but trying to come up with a gameplan that potentially works on that surface now we’ve had experience of what it was like in the last game.”We’re still in a position to draw in India… we are in with a chance of a pretty awesome achievement if we win this last one. It’s going to be difficult knowing the kind of surface we’re going to play on but we have just got to be better than we were in the last game.”Ben Foakes says England know the challenge ahead now•BCCI

From batting and wicketkeeping perspectives, Foakes has been in the thick of England’s battle since he arrived to replace the resting Jos Buttler starting with the second Test at Chennai.There, he acquitted himself particularly well as spin also played a big part in the match, albeit on a more traditional sub-continental pitch. His unbeaten 42 was England’s highest score in their first innings and he completed three stumpings, took two catches and was involved in a run out before they succumbed to a 317-run defeat. In the third Test, meanwhile, 20 of the 30 dismissals were either lbw or bowled.”From playing on the last two pitches I’ve never seen turn like that,” he said. “They almost feel like day-five pitches from ball one and it’s understanding we are going to get out at times and it’s making peace with a certain way of getting out if it means we can score runs.”The last two games have been the hardest pitches I’ve kept on. They’ve been challenging and the last game, I think it was to do with the pink ball, the amount it was skidding on or spun, I’d probably never experienced a wicket like that before. So it was a good challenge to keep on and I guess it was one I enjoyed.”Any time it’s done as much as it has been you’re always in the game. It’s just about trying to do as solid a job as possible and trying to impact the game by stealing a wicket or a stumping – that’s my goal.”But Foakes was also resigned to making way for Buttler once more when his rest period is over.”The way I’ve mentally approached the games is it’s three more opportunities to play for England and I’ll try and do as well as I can,” Foakes said. “I’m purely looking at how I can do well in the next game rather than the bigger picture.”

Mahela Jayawardene has praised his bowlers for dismissing Pakistan in tough conditions, and said he did not enforce the follow-on because he wanted to give them a break

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Galle25-Jun-2012Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has praised his bowlers for dismissing Pakistan in tough conditions in Galle, and said he did not enforce the follow-on despite a 372-run lead because he wanted to give them a break.”You always think that you can take those remaining wickets and finish it off. But they [Pakistan] batted really well,” Jayawardene said after Sri Lanka’s 209-run win. “We had to be patient until we got those opportunities. It was a great effort from the bowlers. Tough conditions but we stuck to our task and executed the plans we set up when the Test match started.”Sri Lanka chose to bat again after Pakistan were dismissed for 100 on the third day and Jayawardene said that was because the pitch was still good for batting. “Our guys had already bowled 60 overs in the first innings. If I had inserted the follow-on, they would have had to bowl another three or four sessions. Whether I would get the same effort was questionable.”Guys like [Nuwan] Kulasekara, who had played five-six ODIs straight, had to be given a break,” Jayawardene said. “We had only played two and half days on that wicket, so it was better for our batsmen to bat again on a wicket easier to bat on, and thereby bat Pakistan out of the game.”The bowlers obliged yesterday evening by picking up three wickets. We knew it was going to be a tough day and we had to think of a lot of things. The easiest thing to do was insert the follow-on but we had to think of a lot of things and all those things came into the equation.”Jayawardene said there were several positives that Sri Lanka could take out of the game for the next Test. “The batting looked much better. We had a good start. [Tillakaratne] Dilshan went onto get a hundred. When he gets hundreds he puts us in good positions because he scores quickly,” he said. “Kumar [Sangakkara] got us a big hundred. [Tharanga] Paranavitana got a start and got out, and that’s another plus. We were struggling to get those starts going.”I thought Suraj [Randiv] bowled much better in this game than he did against England and he has got lot of confidence. Kulasekara [was] coming back into the side, [he] showed what a quality bowler he is.”Looking ahead to the next two Tests, Jayawardene said, “We have to be positive. We have two matches to go. We need to put this match behind and keep improving. We need to focus on that and try and be a lot more consistent with bowling, batting and fielding.”

On a gloomy day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Punjab became the first team to take the first-innings lead against Karnataka this season

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium15-Dec-2011
Scorecard
On a gloomy day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Punjab became the first team to take the first-innings lead against Karnataka this season. Mayank Sidhana’s second half-century of the match, and bad light that ended play more than an hour early made a draw the likeliest result as Punjab ended the day nearly 200 ahead with only three wickets down.The odds on the draw were even shorter than the scoreline suggested, as Karnataka lost two of their frontline bowlers to injury – S Aravind struggling with a knee problem, and Stuart Binny having hamstring trouble after completing his second century of the season. Robin Uthappa came into the match as a batsman, but had a surreal day in which he first shared the new ball and then took over as wicketkeeper after the specialist gloveman CM Gautam went off with a bruised foot.Karnataka began the day with only a slim chance of overhauling Punjab’s first innings total, but with overnight pair of Binny and Gautam starting with a bunch of boundaries, the chase was on. Gautam reached his fifty with a cut behind point and Binny moved into the 90s with a six over long-on. Left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh snapped the stand with Karnataka still 139 behind, getting Gautam lbw with a delivery that stayed low.Binny reached his hundred with a sharp run to point – raising both hands in celebration even as he began the single – but Punjab hit back with the second new ball. Fast bowler Harmeet Singh struck three times, including the wicket of Binny for 119, as Karnataka lost their final four wickets for nine runs, to give Punjab a crucial 76-run lead. If this game ends in a draw, as seems probable, Punjab will get three points which will be vital in a tight race for the third and final qualifying spot – four teams are currently separated by one point.Like Karnataka, Punjab’s top order made a wobbly start. Karnataka’s only fit quick bowler, NC Aiyappa – playing his first match in three years – bowled Ravi Inder Singh for 2, before Sarul Kanwar was run out and Karan Goel chipped a catch to mid-off leaving Punjab at 32 for 3.If Karnataka briefly had hopes of a glorious turnaround, they were crushed by Sidhana’s attacking innings. A flurry of driven fours from Sidhana took him to 50 off 73 deliveries, as he dominated in an 87-run stand with Uday Kaul. Kaul was more subdued, surviving several loud appeals for lbw.Barring some major drama on the final day, Karnataka will end up being second best in a Ranji match for the first time this season. But with qualification more or less guaranteed, it won’t affect them as much as the news that they will be without their main fast bowler, Aravind, for four weeks.

An interim CSA board will be now be constituted, with further details expected by the end of the week

Firdose Moonda28-Oct-2020The CSA’s Members’ Council – the highest-decision making authority in the game made up of the 14 provincial affiliate presidents – and South Africa’s sports minister Nathi Mthethwa held a “constructive” meeting on Tuesday, which was the deadline for the organisation to convince Mthethwa why he should not intervene in their affairs.Mthethwa was satisfied with the progress made at CSA after the entire board stood down on Monday. An interim board will be now be constituted, with further details expected by the end of the week.Mthethwa also met with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), who CSA has previously refused to comply with, as well as the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) to “share the outcomes of the meeting with CSA for the purpose of keeping key role players abreast of the latest developments,” according to a ministerial statement issued on Wednesday morning.It is not clear if CSA will now work with SASCOC, who demanded the board and executive stand down while an investigation is conducted into CSA’s affairs and unrestricted access to the forensic report used to fire former CEO Thabang Moroe. SASCOC also wanted CSA to foot the bill for a task team that would stand in for the organisation’s leadership while issues around governance are resolved. This team could now take the structure of an interim board.ESPNcricinfo understands that the minister will be involved in the process of choosing the members of the interim board, which could include prominent South Africans in business and former players. For now, CSA is represented by a board of four Members’ Council participants – Rihan Richards (who is also the acting Members Council president), Zola Thamae, John Mogodi and Donovan May. Thamae, Mogodi and May were all part of the board that stood down.

Jesse Ryder is unlikely to be considered for a central contract or selected for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, according to David White, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2012Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, is unlikely to be considered for a central contract or selected for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, according to David White, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive. White said that Ryder needs to prove his “commitment to the game” before he could be considered for national selection once again.”No, I don’t think so,” White told , responding to a question on whether Ryder’s IPL form puts him into contention for the summer’s tour to the Caribbean. “It is great that he is playing cricket again but he is a fair way from being considered for New Zealand.”He needs to prove to the selectors and New Zealand Cricket his commitment to the game, and that means on and off the field. He needs to do a lot of work on a lot of things like fitness, attitude … and be exemplary off the park.”Ryder has scored 217 runs in seven games for Pune Warriors so far, with two half-centuries. He had travelled to India for the IPL with a support structure consisting of his manager and clinical psychologist in place, coming off an ‘indefinite break’ from cricket that he had announced in March. That announcement came after Ryder was dropped from the New Zealand squad for the third ODI against South Africa for breaking team protocol and then left out of the Test series as well.When Ryder had announced his participation in the IPL, White had extended his support. “It’s really positive that Jesse has reached the point where here is ready to play competitive cricket again,” he had said. “He has clear expectations from NZC in terms of what is required from him to make a return to international cricket and playing in the IPL is a good first step. We are proud of the progress he has made and we will continue to support him through what has been a tough time.”Ryder has had a history of disciplinary issues, prompting questions about his commitment to New Zealand cricket. Previously, in August 2010, he was fined for “intoxicated and rowdy” behaviour at a hotel during an indoor cricket tournament and he said he had feared for his career while NZC was investigating the incident. The most serious of Ryder’s indiscretions was in 2008, when he put his right hand through a glass window during a late-night session at a Christchurch bar. In January 2009, NZC said Ryder had given up alcohol after another incident, which resulted in him missing an ODI against West Indies.