Cricket: Oram wants to share in rising confidence

Jacob Oram. Photo / Getty Images

Jacob Oram's enthusiasm remains firmly intact as he prepares to be part of New Zealand's limited-overs campaigns against Zimbabwe, starting on Friday.

And that's partly down to what he sees as a significant movement in the right direction by the New Zealand team.

Oram, entering his 12th year in the national side, liked the efficient manner with which New Zealand beat Zimbabwe inside three days in Napier last week, and expects that to continue in the shorter forms, which begin with the opening ODI in Dunedin.

"That test was not only a sign of the changing conditions Zimbabwe will have to deal with, but also New Zealand cricket as a whole creating a little bit of momentum and depth," Oram said yesterday. "That obviously augurs well not only for this series but South Africa in the near future."

Oram believes the test win over Australia in Hobart last month has had a filter-through effect on not only the New Zealand players but also fans and officials. Suddenly self-belief is in.

The Zimbabwe test had a nice touch of ruthlessness about it, which should continue through the two short-form series.

"The best sides in the world I played against - Australia five or six years ago, India in their own conditions - once they got their tails up they were near-unstoppable. I'm not saying we're at that level, but we are taking small steps towards that."

Oram's role has changed with the years. These days he is in the squads primarily for his tight-fisted medium-pace bowling, with his lower-order hitting less a factor than it once was.

Think Oram, and injuries are never far from the mind. His knees have not always played ball with his ambitions, but he is at that stage of life where there are more important issues to grapple with.

"I've grown out of caring about my injuries. When I was trying to play all three formats it used to get me down, and did get frustrating.

"But I'm over it now. I try my hardest to get right for cricket and if something happens I don't lose sleep over it because I know I've done all I can to play."

Those wanting to call time on the 32-year-old need to check his value to New Zealand's bowling operation. His numbers are good.

In 153 ODIs, he's taken 165 wickets at 29.02, with an economy rate of 4.35 runs an over. His T20 batting strike rate is 138.46 from 29 games.

He was a strong performer during last year's World Cup on the subcontinent and is something of a go-to figure with the ball at key stages for New Zealand.

The New Zealand selectors have indicated they are looking to the future by naming Canterbury's Andrew Ellis and Auckland's Colin de Grandhomme in their limited-overs squads.

Time will be up for Oram sooner rather than later, but he's not ready to walk away just yet. He is constantly reassessing his situation, as he did after the World Cup but as long as he feels he is contributing, is fit and his enthusiasm levels are high, he wants to remain part of the national set-up.

Rain has curtailed his chances for Central Districts in the Ford Trophy - four of their seven games have been rained out - but he got through 10 overs in the win against Canterbury on Sunday and quipped that he was "still walking today".

"The ball is coming out well, the figures suggest I'm bowling okay, I felt good during the HRV Cup and I'm fine to go."