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‘Jesse the tosser’?
By Will 9 months ago, 9 Comments »
A couple of weeks ago there was an indication - however fleeting - that Jesse Ryder, New Zealand’s troubled young batsman, might have overcome the mental woes which once threatened to cut short a highly promising career. He was walloping England all over the place, proving that under the flab lay a wonderful eye and an appetite (for want of a better word) for runs.
But it’s all come crashing down to earth with the news that he put his hand through a window after one too many pints, severing the tendons, which required a visit to the hospital. In his local casualty, he then abused the staff - “Don’t you know who I am? I’m New Zealand cricket” was one of the politer offerings - and will be out of the game for three months.
He is an extraordinary character. I remember putting up this story last May that Ryder was to turn his back on New Zealand and commit his future to Ireland, to whom he had signed for 2007. Accompanying the release were these oddly detached quotations from him which, even then, suggested he held a fuzzy view of his own future. “I didn’t want to play for them for another year,” he said. “I have told New Zealand Cricket. It didn’t go down well, I had a few phone calls. I am still pretty young. Every now and then you do some stupid things - but I am still scoring runs and taking wickets.”
The very next day, however, it emerged that Ryder had failed to turn up for Ireland after missing his plane. It effectively ended his association with the country, and so it was a surprise to see his name included in New Zealand’s one-day squad a few weeks ago. He looked an extreme talent then…but it’s all gone full circle and he’s back “soul searching”, asking himself “serious questions” and all that malarkey.
Who knows what will happen with him, but can New Zealand really afford to tolerate such a maverick? Can cricket? Part of me loves the story - and regardless of your opinion of him, it’s a cracking tale - but mostly I find it pathetic that such a talented cricketer can be allowed to drift like this.
Lastly, a quote from Steve Deane in the New Zealand Herald:
“Those actions suggest that, beneath the veneer of Jesse the Lad, actually lurks Jesse the Tosser.”
So which is it to be? Talented hero or timewasting tosser?
9 Comments »