'Wild child' Jesse irons out the creases

BY AARON LAWTON

CHUBBY and unfit or simply big-boned? Alcoholic or beer-loving party boy? Abrasive and obnoxious or just misunderstood?

Few, including those who know him best, would agree on a fitting definition for Black Caps cult-hero Jesse Ryder except, perhaps, that he is – and he'll even admit it himself – New Zealand Cricket's bad boy.

But love him or hate him, here's a news flash.

Ryder doesn't care. He just wants to play cricket.

Since making his debut for New Zealand against England almost two years to the day ago, Ryder has been something of a household name.

Before even facing an international delivery he copped criticism from former Black Cap Adam Parore who suggested he was "too fat" to be an international cricketer.

But on the field – the place Ryder revealingly says he most feels safe – the boy from Masterton let his bat respond for him. And respond it did. Already, he has a test batting average of 49.88, while in one-day cricket it's a respectable 35.38.

Of course, off the field, the Ryder story has weaved a different path.

His past – even before his Black Caps days – is littered with a string of incidents, most coming while he's been "on the piss".

In particular, he first discovered the glare of the press after putting his hand through a window in a Christchurch bar after New Zealand's one-day series win over England in early 2008. And, yes, he was drunk.

Almost a year later, he then missed a team meeting after, you guessed it, another "big night on the piss" and was dropped to 12th man for the fourth one-dayer against the West Indies. Ironically, during the day when he took out the drinks, he got a bigger cheer from the Eden Park crowd than anyone else.

Other reports since then have suggested a drunk Ryder was restrained by security guards during the Indian Premier League in South Africa midway through last year (something he denies happened) while he also came under fire for swearing at Black Caps manager Dave Currie and smashing a chair in the dressing room after being dismissed during September's Champions Trophy. That one, he doesn't deny.

"I don't care what the media say or think about me," Ryder says.

"They're entitled to their opinion. I've never really cared too much about what is written or reported.

"What I do care about is what my team mates, my bosses, the fans, my support group and what my friends think.

"I don't mind the wild child label too much.

"In some respects, it's a good thing to be different and it's helped me along the way in some ways.

"I think that's maybe why I do have some of the fans that I do because they probably respect the fact that I am different and a bit wild at times."

Think Ryder and you can't help but also think of alcohol.

After the early morning incident at the Stock Exchange bar in Christchurch, a dejected and in-pain Ryder fronted the media but denied he had a problem with alcohol.

Ryder enjoys a drinkbut now he's an international cricketer , he also understands he has to make better decisions on what he does off the field.

"Most people would say I had a problem with booze," he says.

"They'd see me with a drink and say `alcoholic'.

"I don't think I was in the first place but that did get put out there because of some of the things I've done in the past.

"I've made mistakes while drinking and it's something that gets talked about all of the time.

"Now, I know I can't afford to go feral and that basically keeps me in my place and I am getting better at being more professional.

"The worst thing, I think, was that in the past I had a real habit of binge drinking.

"I would be with my friends and we'd do drinking games. It was like `bang' and I would be downing drinks throughout the night which probably caused most of my problems.

"I can't afford to let that affect my cricket any more."

Ryder isn't on the wagon.

"Over the Christmas and New Year's period I had a few drinks," he says.

"It was nothing out of hand but I guess I got a bit caught up in the festive season and had a few drinks here and there.

"That's over now and I'm just trying to get my injury right and get back into training."

Ryder is far from the stereotypical athlete. The chance of him modelling Calvin Klein undies is as likely as Andy Moles being reappointed Black Caps coach.

But part of being a professional athlete is that there's an expectation of, well, behaving like one.

And that, says Ryder, is probably the most difficult part.

"There's definitely fear there that if I stuff up again, pwople will give up on me," he says. "Because of that I have had to change myself from the person I was to the person I have to be.

"And that's hard for me. I haven't ever really had boundaries or rules set in place for me, even when I was a young fella.

"Growing up, I basically just did what I wanted to do, so it has been really hard to change the way I do things.

"I do think, though, that I am getting there. I feel as if I have had to change who I am. I've made subtle changes to my lifestyle and that's helped me as results would show.

"But I'm not going to sit at home every weekend and do nothing. I'm a pretty social person, full stop

"Growing up, I always enjoyed going out with my mates, having a good time and basically doing what young people do.

"It sort of carried on a bit longer than it probably should have maybe.

"I'm still a young fella, though, and I'm probably still going to make mistakes as I learn.

"I guess I could be classed as a bad boy and it's true, I did like going out on the p-ss.

"Now, I'm a lot more mellow and chilled than I was and the whole going out thing, hey I still go out every now and then – I still like to have fun."

Although Ryder is hardly your typical sportsman, in some ways, that's exactly what makes him a favourite with fans.

Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori, who has been around for what seems forever, rates Ryder as the most popular cricketer he's played with.

He also believes the 25-year-old will turn things around.

"I think everyone has made mistakes in terms of alcohol," Vettori says.

"It's no different for cricketers than anyone else.

"I've probably made mistakes myself as a young guy so for Jesse dealing with the fame, especially because he quickly became a folk hero with fans.

"I think throughout my entire career for New Zealand, he is probably the most popular cricketer I've ever seen.

"And when we dropped him for the game against the West Indies, he was cheered louder than anyone and that probably does make it difficult for him at times.

"If he works hard like he did during that season where he was so successful, I think all the rewards will come to him and the other issues will be put to the side.

"You don't have to be an angel to succeed at international cricket."

- © Fairfax NZ News