Dana Johannsen: Time for us to wish Ryder (fare) well

Jesse Ryder has had the support of the New Zealand public during his run of personal problems. Photo / Christine Cornege

Opinion

Player's omission from wider cup squad a hint for public to accept it - and move on.

Nobody can accuse New Zealand Cricket of not being on-trend. Naming an extended preliminary squad is de rigueur in the world of sport these days and accordingly NZ Cricket yesterday named a wider squad of 30 for next year's World Cup.

They were sadly outdone only a few hours later when the Socceroos named a ridiculously inflated squad of 46 for their Asian Cup campaign, but the effort was there from NZ Cricket.

Other than getting people talking about the World Cup and drawing out the suspense for the final team naming early next year, some might question the merit of naming such a large group. To make the cut it seemed all you had to do was don a pair of pads in the past year, although that still did not stop some punters questioning how on earth (insert your least favourite cricketer's name here) made the squad. How? Because there's 30 players! That's hardly a judicious cull.

But the discussion around the preliminary squad showed why it was a sound strategy from NZ Cricket to go down the extended super squad route, with much of the debate centring on the exclusion of Jesse Ryder from the virtually all-inclusive list. While Ryder's omission was to be expected in light of his recent personal problems and withdrawal from the NZ A tour, it did not stop some from relitigating the arguments for and against the troubled star being included in the team.

But this is exactly what NZ Cricket would have been hoping for - to get those lingering questions over Ryder out of the way now so the whole messy business does not overshadow the eventual naming of the final World Cup squad early next year.

Now the national body has cleared up any ambiguity, maybe it is time that we, too, sideline the Ryder debate once and for all.

Whether it be through injury, personal issues or just a plain lack of commitment and desire, sport is littered with tragic examples of athletes who have never fulfilled their promise.

As sad as it is to do so, it appears time we officially consign Jesse Ryder to those ranks.

He is New Zealand cricket's "if only" man - he could be a truly great player if only he would apply himself more; if only he dropped a few kilos and made an effort with his fitness; if only he would lay off the booze; if only he could get his head sorted.

Despite his ongoing battles with alcohol and a career that has been littered with headline-grabbing off-piste incidents, Ryder has largely had the support of the New Zealand public.

There is nothing more seductive in sport than a tale of redemption. Cricket fans desperately wanted to see him succeed - more so than Ryder himself, it would seem. But with each successive incident, the hope we shared that Ryder would eventually get his act together has eroded.

We may now have to accept we may never see the best of Ryder on the cricket pitch and instead hope that he simply gets well.