Wellington, Apr. 2 : Jesse Ryder has been officially declared New Zealand''s number one Test batsman.

According to a Dominion Post report, Ryder''s magnificent 201 in Napier, on the back of his equally controlled century in Hamilton, has catapulted his world ranking to 30 after just eight tests.

Averaging 64 in Test cricket, Ryder yesterday inked a long-term sponsorship deal with Gray Nicolls to add to his lucrative IPL contract.

Wellington, Apr. 2 : Double-sided bats are here to stay, but Kiwi batsman Jesse Ryder isn't too taken up with the idea of using it.

New sponsor Gray Nicolls handed Test batsman Jesse Ryder the jazzy bat, invented for hitting reverse sweeps with the back of the bat''s flat surface, and some space-age helmets yesterday.

Gray Nicolls'' Cameron Black said the bats had caused a stir in Australia after David Warner hit Australian team-mate Shaun Tait on to the roof of the Adelaide Oval using the back of the bat.

Napier, Mar. 29 : Batsman Jesse Ryder is on track to becoming the fastest New Zealand cricketer to reach 1000 test runs.

According to a Sunday Star report, Ryder has so far scored 768 runs from 14 test innings and needs another 232 to reach 1000.

The Kiwi record holders for the fastest 1000 runs, a benchmark in test cricket, are John F Reid and Mark Richardson, who both took 20 innings to post a grand.

Napier (New Zealand), Mar. 27 : Kiwi batsman Jesse Ryder appeared disappointed on Friday after completing his double ton, suggesting that he is hungry to score more runs.

Ryder slammed his bat on the ground after playing the ball back on to his stumps just after reaching his maiden double hundred.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 20 : Former internationals are struggling to remember a better maiden test century than the one posted by Jesse Ryder against India in Hamilton this week.

Ryder''s 102 was his fourth successive 50-plus score in tests and came just 10 days after he posted his maiden one-day hundred in Christchurch.

Former Indian international Ravi Shastri marvelled at the way Ryder was able to adapt to his game to the match situation.

"I see him getting many more hundreds, but at the end of it all, he might just rate this as one of his best," Shastri said.

Wellington, Mar. 12: Jesse Ryder should not be hidden in the New Zealand middle order, but should be allowed to open the innings, given his devastating and aggressive style of batting.

According to stuff. co. nz, the time has come to allow Ryder to fulfill his promise.

He is far more comfortable against pace bowling than spin bowling and due to his late hands, is an ideal fit against the swinging ball.

The bowling is also a worry without Chris Martin. Franklin needs to be back to the 140kmh we know he can bowl at to be effective.