The troubled batsman Jesse Ryder has returned to cricket, targeting a return to the Black Caps after a tumultuous year that included a drugs ban and a near-fatal beating.
Ryder linked up with his new domestic team Otago for the first time yesterday after serving a six-month ban for testing positive to banned substances contained in a weight-loss supplement.
He aims to play in the Volts' season opener against his former team Wellington next week, with the longer-term aim of returning to the New Zealand side for upcoming home series against the West Indies and India.
Ryder is one of New Zealand's best batting talents, averaging 40.93 in 18 Tests, but his career has been marred by disciplinary lapses, off-field problems and struggles with his fitness.
The 29-year-old went into self-imposed exile from international cricket in February 2012, saying he needed to sort out his personal issues.
He appeared to be making progress and was set to take up a lucrative Indian Premier League contract in March before he was assaulted outside a bar in Christchurch.
Then the doping ban extended his time away from the game, forcing him to train by himself as his new teammates at the Volts prepared for the upcoming season.
