Ryder ready for New Zealand return

Jesse Ryder has returned to New Zealand's squad for the one-day series against South Africa but the allrounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out due to a calf injury. Ryder has also been added to the group for the final Twenty20, to be played in Auckland on Wednesday, having not played for New Zealand since the tour of Australia in December due to a calf problem.

The allrounder James Franklin and the fast bowler Andy McKay have been named in the squad for the three-match ODI series, which begins in Wellington on Saturday. There was no room for Tom Latham, who made his debut against Zimbabwe last month, while the other change from the side that played Zimbabwe was the omission of Dean Brownlie due to his fractured finger.

"The squad has a talented mix of experienced internationals and proven performers from domestic cricket," the national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said. "We decided to leave Tom out of the side. We are a pleased with his first stint at international level but in terms of his overall development felt it was best for him to return to domestic cricket. He remains in our thinking for the future.

"James has been in good touch during the current Twenty20 series while Jesse has been shown that he is ready for a return to top level cricket. Andy McKay bolsters the bowling attack and deserves his spot after putting in consistent performances across the summer."

Oram was scheduled to have scans on Monday after injuring his left calf in the final ODI against Zimbabwe and the severity of his problem remained to be seen. Meanwhile, Andrew Ellis will not play in the final T20 after requesting to return to Christchurch to be with his family for the anniversary of the Canterbury earthquake.

Ryder will join the squad for the final match after impressing during his first matches back for Wellington after recovering from his calf problem. In a one-day match earlier this month, Ryder made 96 against Otago and in this week's ongoing Plunket Shield game in Rangiora he scored 74 in the first innings.

"We are pleased with the progress Jesse has made since returning from injury," Littlejohn said, "and with Andrew not available for the final match we felt it was a good opportunity to bring him back into the mix."