Ryder picked for West Indies tour match

Jesse Ryder is among seven New Zealand international cricketers who have been included in a New Zealand XI squad to play the West Indians in a warm-up match at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval from November 27 to 29. The squad also includes New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, Dean Brownlie, Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Tom Latham and Todd Astle.

Otago batsman Aaron Redmond and Jeet Raval, from Auckland, will open the batting for West Indies XI because the visitors are missing several players who are part of the ongoing tour of India.

Ryder's inclusion is significant because it has been only eight months since he was assaulted in Christchurch and hospitalised. He also served a six-month ban for failing a dope test.

"This warm-up match will give our batsmen some critical match time as well as giving them a sighter of some of the West Indian bowlers," General manager national selection Bruce Edgar said. "It will be great to see Jesse back in a New Zealand team environment but it's simply another opportunity for him to show that he can perform consistently."

New Zealand will name their Test squad on November 25. The tour comprises three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.

New Zealand XI: Brendon McCullum (capt), Todd Astle, James Baker , Dean Brownlie, Mark Craig, Peter Fulton, Tom Latham, Andrew Mathieson, Hamish Rutherford, Jesse Ryder, Anurag Verma