Elbow forces Ryder out of Sri Lanka trip

Jesse Ryder's disrupted year has continued after a nagging elbow injury ruled him out of New Zealand's tour of Sri Lanka next month. Ryder, 25, spent most of last summer fighting a serious groin problem and only returned for the World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

He entered that tournament with hurt ligaments in his elbow and batted five times for 93 runs. Ryder eventually succumbed to the pain, which is particularly bad when he throws, missed the Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in May and has failed to recover during his time off.

"Due to the compressed nature of the tour and his speed of recovery so far we feel we have insufficient time to get Jesse fully fit and able to take part in any of the one-day matches," the coach and selector Mark Greatbatch said. "Therefore we have made the decision to keep Jesse in New Zealand where he will continue his rehabilitation from the elbow injury and return to playing as soon as possible."

A replacement will be named for the tri-series tournament that also involves India. New Zealand will be captained by Ross Taylor at the event, with Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum both on paternity leave.

Greatbatch said it would be a huge achievement if New Zealand won the tri-series. "The team is a relatively young side without Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum but it gives other players an opportunity to express their natural talent on the international stage," he said. "We're building towards the first one-day international and are confident we will be ready when it really matters."

The squad departs for Sri Lanka on August 1 and the first match is against India on August 10. This week the players travel to Australia for three 50-over practice games against Maharashtra in Darwin to acclimatise.