Team has faith in Ryder, says Taylor

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has said that he and his team-mates would do their utmost to help Jesse Ryder get over his problem with alcohol. Ryder was fined for missing a team meeting and a training session after a late night of drinking and was also left out of the XI for the fourth ODI against West Indies in Wellington. He was subsequently reported to have given up alcohol.

"It's pretty well publicised but the fact Jesse has come out and admitted his problem is one of the biggest things for him," Taylor told the Sunday Star-Times. "The team and the support staff are fully behind him and we're there to help him stay away from the alcohol, which is the problem for him. The whole team has a lot of faith in Jesse to perform on and off the field."

Taylor also said he hoped Ryder could live up to his commitment but clarified he hadn't talked about the issue in detail with him. "I've known him for a long time and there have been a few indiscretions but it's up to him to make that decision. Jesse likes to keep to himself and so do I, so I haven't talked to him in-depth."

Taylor is now one of the more experienced members of the New Zealand team, having played 14 Tests and 53 ODIs. Martin Guptill was the most recent addition to New Zealand's batting line-up among other new entrants like Daniel Flynn and Neil Broom. With allrounder Scott Styris out of the team due to injury, Taylor's responsibilities have grown and he has had to adapt his style of batting too.

"I guess I see myself as a little bit more of a senior player. I don't feel like a senior player but in terms of the games I've played, I guess I am. So there's a lot of responsibility on myself and Brendon [McCullum] in the batting unit to try to help the less experienced members of the team.

"I can't play as many shots as I used to. It's something I've had to work on and change my mindset on; we have so much explosive power in our line-up. With Jesse, Brendon and Martin all going for it, you can't afford to have four guys going after it. So at this stage I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to be more consistent, which is what I want to be."

Taylor averaged 62.33 in four ODIs against West Indies but said there was still room for improvement. "I'm pretty happy with the way I've gone but I don't want to get carried away. It's only three innings of note and hopefully I can build on that to become the solid middle order player I want to be."

New Zealand were comprehensively beaten in the two-Test series against Australia last year, but Taylor felt his team would compete much stronger in their upcoming ODI series against the same team in February. "Yeah, I think we will be more confident. There were crucial times in that Test series when we had Australia on the ropes and let them get away. The one-day environment just brings the teams closer together.

"Andy Moles [the New Zealand coach] has put in place a team goal that he wants his boys to be no more than three wickets down after 35 overs. It's a basic game plan but if we're no more than three down after 35 overs, with the line-up we've got, we're going to have a formidable total on the board."