Jesse Ryder at the crossroads

MICHAEL BRADLEY/Sunday Star-Times

OH THE IRONY: Jesse Ryder was given the job of relaying drinks to the Kiwi batsmen during yesterday's abandoned one-dayer.

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The owner of the Christchurch bar where Jesse Ryder infamously sliced his hand open in a drunken rage denies he exploited the Black Caps batsman by shouting him free alcohol on two subsequent visits.

Ryder, who is battling alcohol addiction, was stood down from yesterday's ODI in Auckland after falling off the wagon in Wellington on Thursday night. An under-the-weather Ryder failed to attend a team meeting the next day.

NZ Cricket played down this latest infraction of team rules, but the Star-Times understands the troubled star, who Wellington bar patrons said was "smashed" on Thursday, had been flirting with drink again after a brief period of sobriety.

Anthony Bailey, owner of The Stock X Change Bar in Cashel St where last February Ryder smashed a window with his fist severing a tendon in his hand said the cricketer had twice revisited the scene of his demise, most recently after the rain-interrupted ODI against the West Indies in Christchurch earlier this month.

And, in a staggering admission, Bailey confirmed Ryder was given a "small free bar tab". Asked if he thought this was irresponsible given Ryder's high-profile battle with the bottle, Bailey responded: "It would be if he had a drinking problem, but Jesse doesn't."

Bailey added that, on his most recent visit, Ryder and his partner accepted one free drink.

"He then had a coffee, showed his partner around, had a bit of a laugh, and then left.

"He's been back twice now [since punching out the toilet window] and has behaved perfectly on both occasions.

"I wouldn't say we're mates, but they're nice people and are welcome in our bar any time."

Bailey denied he was cashing in on Ryder's notoriety, but admitted he had named a cocktail, made with vodka, after Ryder, and mounted a plaque, with Ryder's name on it, beside the toilet.

"A couple of people have come in wanting to take photos of the toilet. [Ryder] thinks it's really funny."

To others, though, it's no laughing matter.

In the aftermath of Ryder's fall from grace last February, observers were worried he appeared to deny he had a drinking problem: acceptance of which is one of the most important steps towards recovery from alcoholism.

Sources close to Ryder have confirmed that in recent days he has appeared to change his stance one reason why NZ Cricket has taken a relatively lenient stance to this latest embarrassment.

- © Fairfax NZ News