Cricket: Ryder named in NZ XI

Jesse Ryder. Photo / Getty Images

A return to international cricket for Jesse Ryder looks on the cards after he was named in the New Zealand XI squad to face West Indies in a three-day warm-up game.

Seven Black Caps, including captain Brendon McCullum, have been named in the squad.

It's a remarkable return for Ryder who was violently attacked in Christchurch just eight months ago. Ryder last played for the Black Caps in February last year before taking a self-imposed break from the international level.

He made 117 in his Otago Volts debut against Wellington last month, his 14th first class century.

General Manager National Selection Bruce Edgar said it's important that Jesse is back playing at this level.

"It will be great to see Jesse back in a New Zealand team environment but it's simply another opportunity for him to show that he can perform consistently."

Edgar said the players have come predominantly from the Otago Volts and the Canterbury Wizards who don't have Plunket Shield or HRV Twenty20 matches at the time.

The three-day match, which will be played from November 27-29 at Lincoln University's Bert Sutcliffe Oval, will have a dual purpose for the New Zealand batsmen.

Aaron Redmond (Otago Volts) and Jeet Raval (Auckland Aces) will open the batting for the West Indies as the visitors won't have a full XI in the country at the time due to their One Day International squad still being in India.

New Zealand XI for West Indies warm-up match:
Brendon McCullum (c) - Otago Volts
Todd Astle - Canterbury Wizards
James Baker - Northern Knights
Dean Brownlie - Canterbury Wizards
Mark Craig - Otago Volts
Peter Fulton - Canterbury Wizards
Tom Latham - Canterbury Wizards
Andrew Mathieson - Central Stags
Hamish Rutherford - Otago Volts
Jesse Ryder - Otago Volts
Anurag Verma - Northern Knights