The two men who have been charged with the attack on Ryder have appeared at Christchurch District Court.
The men who have been accused of attacking New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder have appeared in court to begin their defence.
The all-rounder was put into a medically induced coma after being assaulted by two men in a McDonald’s car park in the early hours of the morning on March 28.
A 37-year-old builder has been charged with assaulting Ryder and a reckless disregard for the safety of others, whilst a 20-year-old has faced charges of two incidents of assault on the cricketer.
The defence counsel, Jonathan Eaton, asked for and received a two-week remand for bail until April 18 for the two men.
Eaton disputed the stories of some eye witnesses at the scene of the attack and stated on ESPNcricinfo that it had not been a “Jesse Ryder hate crime.”
“The eye witness accounts are wildly inaccurate and misleading.”
The defence then went on to say that the two men had been at a family dinner at Aikmans Bar and were then involved in an altercation with Ryder of a “convivial” fashion.
Eaton also said that the reports of the 28-year-old’s injuries were wrong, claiming that the all-rounder had received concussion and not a fractured skull and that he also did not suffer a collapsed lung.
Ryder left Christchurch hospital on Wednesday after coming out of his medically induced coma and has returned to his home in Wellington.
Although police have interviewed the New Zealander he still has no recollection of what happened on the night he was attacked.
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