Folks, we definitely have a conundrum. I wouldn't say we're in a pickle, but there are a few people who have a fair bit of thinking to do and I reckon they should do that thinking relatively soon. You see we have a guy named Jesse Ryder who has talent by the bucket load but is also a bit of a character, a character who may not fit in to this very focused Black Caps unit.

The reason why this is a tricky situation is that there are pros and cons, one could make a solid argument for both sides of the story but for me the benefits especially with a World Cup around the corner are too hard to ignore.

Making the case for Jesse Ryder to be given yet another opportunity is a bit harder than closing the door on his international career because it is just that - yet another opportunity. He's had a fair few. This isn't the easy viewpoint to take, but one that is very realistic as he is one hell of a talented cricketer. I said a few weeks ago that Ryder had really shot himself in the foot because the test team was strong and he'd struggle to get back in to it, which I still agree with. With the white ball however I think we need Jesse Ryder, simple as that. With Ryder in the ODI team, we could have a batting line up that would make a few teams around the world very, very nervous... Guptill, Ryder, Williamson, Taylor, McCullum, Ronchi, Anderson and/or Neesham.

You wouldn't want to bring Ryder in to any old team, but with a leadership core of McCullum, Taylor and Williamson there are some very strong, determined minds who will be keen to ensure that only the prodigiously talented version of Jesse Ryder shows up. One would believe that Ryder shares a good relationship with these guys - he and Taylor have known each other for a while and McCullum/Williamson both appear to be guys who want to win and aren't, well... dicks so they'll be keen to welcome him back - after they lay down the law to him.

It's up to Ryder what he wants to do, whether he wants to just focus on helping New Zealand win the World Cup or try to get back in to test cricket or even do both. Or he can just travel the world and play some 20/20 tournys as well as some county cricket. But he's made it very hard for himself to do anything which is the other side of the argument and it doesn't really need to be fleshed out a whole deal. We in New Zealand aren't blessed with the pure amount of cricketers such as England, Australia or India and despite our recent growth, I honestly reckon that having Ryder in the ODI team would give us the best chance to win the World Cup.

This decision will give us a great insight in to the thinking of the Black Caps powerbrokers as it will either demonstrate a strong desire to win or a desire to shun Ryder from international cricket. I don't think we'll ever see Ryder in the test team again, but his inclusion in the one day team could definitely make the Black Caps an unstoppable force.