Jesse Ryder’s New Zealand career was defined by talent and turmoil, but it may yet have a happy ending

At Casey Indoor Centre, just south of Melbourne, the flawed genius of New Zealand cricket, Jesse Ryder, is back in a black cap representing his country at a World Cup.

The last time he played for New Zealand in Australia was the last of his 18 Tests, capping a colourful and often controversial international red ball career.

This week, he is playing indoor cricket.

“In my younger years I was a wild child but I’ve chilled out a bit,” Ryder tells CODE Sports.

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The first thing you need to know about Ryder is that indoor cricket was his first love and all he had going for himself for a while. .

Ryder had a troubled childhood. His parents separated and he was effectively abandoned as a teen to fend for himself. He’d sleep on friends’ couches in search of a sense of home, without really knowing where he’d be from week-to week.

It was here that indoor cricket came into his life.

One of the families who provided him shelter owned an indoor cricket centre.

“We spent hours down there playing as many games as we could every night,” Ryder recalls. “Through my teenage years indoor cricket was my main sport. I loved indoor more than outdoor.”

His father had left for Australia, his mother lived elsewhere so when Ryder found himself living in Napier and playing in the men’s league at 14, his indoor cricket team became his family of sorts.

A lot of those teammates became mentors and lifelong friends.

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Unlike so many coaches in New Zealand who viewed indoor cricket incompatible with outdoor success, Ryder insists the opposite is true. He says a steady diet of indoor cricket helped his outdoor game immensely.

“For me the skill sets were all relevant, facing the swinging ball, learning how to play the ball late and the reaction times in the field,” Ryder says. “You’ve got to bowl as well, so you learn how to bowl a swinging ball. It all helped with my outdoor game.”

He points to Scott Styris, Heath Davis, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris and Andre Adams among the elite New Zealand cricketers who also played indoor cricket in their formative years.

In Ryder’s case, his outdoor skills developed to a point that could not be ignored.

He was picked in elite squads on a path to playing for New Zealand. Ultimately indoor cricket was left behind for the next 14 years. And so was the stability it provided him.

In 2008, he was picked for the Black Caps across all three formats. Within six months of his Test debut, he had a century and double century against India to his name. He averaged 64 through his first eight Tests and was hailed a prodigious talent.

But off-field issues were never far away.

Having experienced a dysfunctional childhood without any real rules or boundaries, Ryder struggled to adjust to life as a travelling professional sportsperson and the strict demands that accompany it.

He also battled with inner demons.

These factors combined, compounded and ultimately manifested in excessive alcohol consumption and partying. A drinking session during his first ODI series ended at 5:30am with a badly cut hand and his first taste of discipline.

It would become a trend throughout his career.

In 2013, he was hospitalised with serious injuries after being attacked at a bar. In 2014, while aiming to return to Test cricket, he was caught drinking the night before a match and New Zealand cricket put a line through his name for good.

“Being in the spotlight wasn’t my thing,” Ryder admits. “Outdoor cricket always had a lot of other pressures. The media always got a hold of me. It got to a point that I couldn’t really be bothered any more.”

He had one last dash and gave away the booze but, in the eyes of administrators, he was a risk not worth taking anymore.

“There’s a period there where I was two years sober and I tried to get back in the team and they didn’t give me an opportunity,” Ryder says. “That was my period where I was actually dominating domestic outdoor cricket and I wanted to have one more crack while I had such a good mindset.

“I felt that I could be one of the top batters in the world, but I didn’t get the chance.”

When it became clear that there was no path back to the top of international cricket, Ryder revisited his first love. He has been back playing indoor cricket for three years now.

Childhood mates Craig Finlay and Ash Watson resurrected an indoor centre in their area and Ryder quickly threw himself back into the sport.

“I just love the social aspect of it,” Ryder, 38, says. “It’s such a good community and I’ve made some awesome friends through the indoor scene. The dickhead side of indoor cricket has died out.”

The notion of family, so important in his teenage years, is evident in the indoor scene.

Ryder has reconnected with many familiar faces.

“I played with their Dads and now I get to play with their sons and watch them become legends,” he says.

He continues: “I get quite nervous going into any indoor games at this level. I don’t tend to hit the ball that hard. My indoor game is probably completely different to my outdoor game.

“You’ve got to adapt, you don’t want to be giving away wickets and minus fives because that just kills you, so you’ve got to be more compact and play the ball later.

“I try to use my hands more to find the gaps.”

Ryder’s late career return to cricket resulted in a surprise call-up to play at the last Indoor Cricket World Cup in Dubai. This time around, at the 2022 tournament at the Casey Indoor Stadium, Ryder is more focused on the challenge.

“It’s pretty cool to have a crack at winning an indoor World Cup,” he says. “I’ve been playing in the legends league in India, a Twenty20 comp for the retired boys. After not doing something for so long, and getting out there and having a bit of fun and doing pretty well, it’s given me a real boost.”

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So far, it’s worked.

Ryder does it all in indoor cricket: he bats, keeps wickets and swaps the gloves for a bowl.

“When I went over to play county cricket at Essex I ended up opening the bowling and I bloody loved it, so getting a couple of overs indoor here is all good as well,” he says.

New Zealand flew out of the blocks with a win over Australia last Saturday night and are unbeaten in their six games at the time of writing. It looks likely that the two teams will meet again in the World Cup final this weekend.

Ryder’s team will be looking to make history as the Aussies have never lost a World Cup.

“Just quietly we’ve got a well rounded team this year,” he says. “We’ve got a bloody good bowling attack so if we perform to our ability I reckon we’ll push them. The boys are confident.”

After a long, torrid journey, Ryder is back in the place that was his sanctuary as a teen, perhaps where he was always happiest.

He has also made peace with his international outdoor career.

“I’ve got no regrets,” he smiles. “I got a double hundred against India and did OK.”

An Indoor World Cup trophy would round out his cricket career nicely.

The Indoor Cricket World Cup is being streamed on Kayo Sports with the Final scheduled for 3pm Saturday.