KEY POINTS:
Those hoping for the tears of a broken man seeking the nation's forgiveness, a la Norm Hewitt, must have gone away disappointed.
Not even the standard admission of a drinking problem was forthcoming as the country's latest fallen star, cricketer Jesse Ryder, was served up to the media yesterday.
The best the 23-year-old supposedly reformed "wild child" could offer, after a weekend of drunken shame, was a brief apology to fans and a promise to sort out his "issues".
"There's not much I can say apart from 'sorry for my behaviour'. I'm disappointed in it, I'm sure [the fans] are disappointed in it."
Despite the apparent lack of emotion, the young cricketer, who dislikes being in front of the cameras and answering reporters' questions at the best of times, was clearly suffering.
With his arm in a sling, he hung his head and largely avoided the gazes of the media mob gathered around him.
Asked whose idea it was for Ryder to go before the public like this, New Zealand Cricket boss Justin Vaughn, sitting at Ryder's side, hesitated before saying: "I think it was a bit of both [Ryder and myself]. He knows he has stuffed up."
The weekend incidents - Ryder out drinking late the night before the crucial one-day international match against England, smashing a small pane of glass to access a bar toilet and badly damaging his hand, and the abuse he later levelled at Christchurch Hospital staff - have been well aired.
Ryder labelled the incidents a "mindless brain explosion" and "pathetic".
"I understand there are a few issues that need to be dealt with, and I will be doing everything I can ... to get through that." He promised to lay off the alcohol, but denied he had any problem with it.
Vaughn said Ryder's behaviour was unacceptable, and he would need a guarantee there would be no repeat if he was to have a career in the Black Caps.
"Jesse is only 23. I'm sure he has learnt a lot of lessons through this unfortunate episode. He knows this can't happen again."
Vaughn denied Ryder was getting special leniency because of his talent and huge potential.
"He gets the level of support any New Zealand cricketer would."
Ryder said he was still deeply committed to playing for New Zealand and regaining the trust of his teammates.
