Ryder out of Champions Trophy

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand opener, has been ruled out of the remainder of his team's campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy after he pulled his left abductor muscle during the Group B match against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers. Aaron Redmond, who's played seven Tests and three Twenty20 internationals, but is yet to make his ODI debut, has been named his replacement. Ryder's injury is a further blow to New Zealand's chances after allrounder Jacob Oram was also sidelined by an injury.

Ryder went down on the ground after taking a single in the fifth over of New Zealand's innings and had to use a runner thereafter. He was on 5 at the time of the injury but went on to blast 74 off 58 balls in an opening stand worth 125 with Brendon McCullum. Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, felt the injury compelled Ryder to cut loose. "I just think he let out some frustration and it worked for us." His innings helped New Zealand post 315 for 7, a match-winning total that earned them their first points of the tournament and kept their semi-final hopes alive.

But Vettori was left to rue the loss of a potentially game-changing player and said the loss would be difficult to overcome. "He's had it for a long time. It had repaired itself but he did it all over again today and it's very sad for everyone. I don't think it is a good prognosis.

"It's a huge loss, even with his bowling and fielding as well, he's pretty valuable. I was a bowler down with him unable to bowl. A big loss and I hope the guys can pick up the slack around him. The way he played today its going to be a tough ask for us to make up that in the game against England."

The squad has requested a replacement and is awaiting approval from the ICC's technical committee. "The guy who comes in has been training so he'll come in ready to go. He's preparing for the Champions League and the altitude won't affect him."

A sad day for Ryder was rounded off when he was fined 15% of his match fee for his angry reaction as he returned to the dressing room following his dismissal. He smashed his bat against a chair and was therefore found guilty of "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings".

"This sort of behaviour is entirely inappropriate for any player," Javagal Srinath, the match referee, said. "It is understandable that Jesse felt disappointment following his dismissal, especially given the fact that he had sustained an injury during his innings and knew he would probably be out of action for a considerable time as a result.

"But he must maintain a certain level of self-control and clearly Jesse's actions went beyond what would be deemed acceptable. That said, he pleaded guilty to the offence, apologised at the hearing, and this was his first offence as far as the ICC Code of Conduct is concerned so the fine is at the lower end of the scale."

New Zealand's last group match is against England in Johannesburg on September 29.