Jesse Ryder has been dropped from the New Zealand cricket team for the first Test against South Africa on form, not as a result of going out for drinks and getting into a verbal stoush with bar patrons.
Ryder and paceman Doug Bracewell were dropped for the final one-day international on Saturday for breaking team protocol following the team's six-wicket loss in Napier on Wednesday.
The pair, despite being injured, went to a bar and then got into a slanging match with members of the public.
Two Rotorua businessmen said they had seen Ryder out and asked whether he should be drinking after scoring a duck against South Africa, a newspaper reported.
They said Ryder then yelled abuse at them.
Ryder, 27, who has a string of booze-related incidents in his past, also broke a self-imposed alcohol ban.
When asked whether it was the final straw for Ryder, a "very disappointed" team manager Mike Sandle told reporters the Napier stoush was not a code of conduct issue, as were the previous incidents, but strictly about team protocol.
Under team rules, injured players were not permitted to drink which was why a third player, Tarun Nethula, was not censured.
Ryder has a hand injury and is recovering from a calf strain, while Bracewell had a hamstring niggle.
The drinking was "very minor" but the argument was a by-product of them being out and they exposed themselves to jibes, Sandle said.
It was up to Ryder to address his drinking, he said.
"Jesse realises that if you are a New Zealand representative there are obligations that come with that.
"He really has to learn from this himself and move on. He is the only one who can make these decisions."
Sandle said Ryder would not be in the squad for the first Test in Dunedin based on form.
Bracewell, 21, is expected to play in the Test.
Auckland's Colin de Grandhomme replaces Ryder in the side for the Saturday's match at Eden Park.
AAP
Tags: sport, cricket, new-zealand First posted March 02, 2012 08:43:51
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