No place for fat men

Adam Parore, the former New Zealand gloveman, expresses his unhappiness over the selection of Jesse Ryder, the 23-year-old left-hand batsman, into the national ODI squad. His column in the New Zealand Herald has more.

For a start, the way Ryder presents himself is a bad sign.He's too fat. He's in no fit state to play for New Zealand and if I was still in the national side, I wouldn't want him in my dressing room.

He claims to have lost 10kg, in which case you can only wonder what shape he was in before that. This selection sends a poor message to other players. There is an implication that fitness parameters only apply to some players.

The days of picking Jock Edwards-types are over. Or David Boon, the tubby Tasmanian, for that matter. Boon was a fine batsman, and an exception to the rule. But those guys are the dinosaurs and have no place in the modern international game.

Then you consider Ryder's off-field track record, his problems with discipline and alcohol. He says they're in the past and good luck to him, but I wouldn't have him there until he'd tidied his act up physically for a start.