Editorial: Hounding of Ryder not cricket

I caught up with Bay-product Jesse Ryder's latest "mistake" on Television One News last night.

The previous night's T20 decider against South Africa had passed me by. Much of cricket, a game I still love, passes me by these days - because there's so much of it.

But I was intrigued by the camera hounding the star batsman through an airport. What had he done this time?

As it turned out his crime was that he failed to score off several balls in succession, and then got out to a silly shot when he could have led New Zealand to victory.

Then I heard he'd made the highest score of 52 (off 42 balls) and left his team needing just eight runs off seven balls. Okay. Not an ideal time to go. A tad irresponsible. But hardly the crime of the century. Others should still have finished the job.

Perhaps New Zealand's recent success in Australia, and over the woeful Zimbabweans has some of our sports journalists expecting the Black Caps to deliver something they never have - world domination. Or perhaps they were just peeved that a T20 series got away.

More likely is that they just can't stop picking on Ryder, who it must be admitted, has played Russian Roulette with a career which should deliver so much, so precocious and prodigious is his talent. A few too many Black Russians has been a problem.

But this week's outrage at his throwing away of his wicket was off the scale, and did journalism no credit. You could see that in James Franklin's face as he was interviewed for the item. We're moving on was his message.

For former Black Cap Craig McMillan to claim that Ryder slowed the scoring down to chase his half century - it took him 13 balls to get his final four runs - is ridiculous. A more likely explanation is that he hit a flat patch as a result of his most recent injury from which he has just returned. Does McMillan really believe a half-century would rock Ryder's boat so heavily that he would have put personal glory ahead of match and series victory?

It was a T20 series that got away. It wasn't the end of the world. Ryder did not need to be hounded through the airport terminal. He did not need to be asked how he felt by the entire media pack. It was obvious. He was annoyed with himself as any top international sportsman would be. That's enough for me to continue supporting him, and continue to hope that he will fully deliver on his talent before his career inevitably comes to an end.

At McLean Park next Wednesday I hope Jesse knocks it out of the park all day long in the one-day international against South Africa. That's what he was born to do. Why don't we let him get on with it?

For the record (and I think you'll agree it's not a bad one): Jesse Ryder - 18 tests, three centuries, 40.93 average; 37 ODIs, two centuries, 36.46 average, 90.26 strike rate; 20 T20s, 22.88 average, 122.98 strike rate.