Ryder faces fitness problem

Wellington: New Zealand coach John Wright has said that Jesse Ryder will have to toil hard to make himself fit to return to international cricket.

Wright admitted all was not well with Ryder’s fitness, and New Zealand’s strength and conditioning coach, Chris Donaldson, and physiotherapist, Paul Close, were working overtime on a plan to help Ryder shed some weight. “We’ve worked hard with him, but obviously there’s an issue there and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it,” Wright told a daily. The 27-year-old is currently recovering from a grade two right calf strain, suffered during an innocuous canter in the field for Wellington on Tuesday. It means up to a month on the sidelines, and was almost identical to the left calf strain he suffered while bowling in the lead-up to the November test in Zimbabwe. “We want to work with Jesse and get him fit and get him right. We’ll work out in the next few days how long that’s going to take,” said Wright. Wright said Ryder would have to prove his fitness in domestic cricket before being considered for selection. “He will have to play some cricket and show he can get through the rigours of a game,” he said. ANI