Jesse Ryder says 'lucky not to be dead' after being 'brutally attacked' in Christchurch bar

New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder has said that when he looks back to the incident where he was rushed to intensive care with a suspected fractured scull after being attacked in a Christchurch bar, he feels lucky that he is still alive.

According to Stuff.co.nz, controversy and Ryder have gone hand-in-hand since the burly batsman burst onto the New Zealand cricket scene in 2008.

Late-night drinking, a hand slashed when he stuck it through a toilet window, more late-night drinking, verbally abusing team manager Dave Currie, no wonder he thought he was in trouble again, the report said.

Ryder had spent 56 hours in an induced coma while fans, friends and strangers held candlelight vigils as word spread that one of the country's most talented and polarising sportsmen was in a precarious state, the report added.

The cricketer said that after being hit, it was just black and he woke up all of a sudden after 56 hours or so, adding that he remembers waking up and trying to pull the tube out of his throat and then someone had to stop him from doing that.

He added that he could not really believe it as he did now know where he was and what had happened, adding that someone had told him that he had been jumped, hit from behind and had whacked his head.

After spending six days in Christchurch Hospital, he was discharged and returned to his home in Wellington under the cover of darkness, helped by a commercial airline that allowed him to bypass the usual terminal process for checking in, the report added.

The next morning, his doorbell started ringing and members of the media camped outside his house hoping for a picture, according to the report.