Cricket: Oram an all round good guy

Jacob Oram

Cricket is a game between bat and ball. Some are good with the bat, others with the ball. Some are good with the bat and not bad with the ball. Those who are first and foremost batsmen, but who do a job with the ball, are batting allrounders. Then there are the fellows who are good with the ball and get a few runs too - bowling allrounders.

But there is another chap who comes along only so often and whose impact is significant - the true allrounder. Like Jacob Oram.

This is the player who would probably make the team as either batsman or bowler and whose contribution to both proves it.

He would generally be the player who averages above 30 with the bat and below 30 with the ball. Chris Cairns: 62 tests, 3320 runs at 33.53 and then 218 wickets at 29.4.

While Oram still averages 36 with the ball, his development continues and this will drop. But let's face it, he and Vettori have been carrying our test attack for some time now and his batting average stands at 43.

So what's so great about a true allrounder?

Balance: Having a player test standard with bat and ball means you have the ability to have seven batsmen and four bowlers or, if you trust your top five batsmen, you can boost your bowling with a fifth. Simply said, your true allrounder is like having an extra player. By playing Oram at No 6, as in Sri Lanka, the Black Caps could play both Vettori and Wiseman without losing too much in the seam department - great in a hot environment.

Match winning: Sir Richard Hadlee's 9 for 52 against Australia was pretty cool and in the same game Martin Crowe's 188 was a super knock, but both needed each other to win the game.

When someone stands up and gets a century and then five wickets in an innings in the same game, that's worth doing cartwheels about. Ian Botham did this on five occasions and in later times Jacques Kallis did it twice. Botham, Imran Khan, Kallis, names that say "match winner".

Entertainment: We appreciate great batsmen and bowlers but the dominant impact an allrounder can have on a cricket match when they perform with bat and ball seems to captivate us. When you think of the great allrounders like Botham, Imran, Kapil Dev, Cairns, Keith Miller and the greatest of all, Sir Garfield Sobers. You don't think "grafter", you think "entertainer".

Demoralisation: Against Australia in Brisbane last November, the Black Caps had a chance to get their noses in front in the first test until batsman/wicket keeper allrounder Adam Gilchrist took the game away in a session. It all went downhill from there.

Last year in England, Andrew Flintoff's belligerent batting caused our heads to go down and his presence with the ball and in the field led to mistakes being made by Black Cap batsmen. When Cairns went ballistic in Auckland against South Africa last summer, we took to the field buoyed with confidence.

While Oram is yet to climb the lofty heights of Cairns and others, his efforts last summer and in Australia suggest he is capable of doing so. He will not be easy to replace. Can we do so this summer?

Perhaps - in one-day internationals. We still have Cairns and, with Astle back at the bowling crease, Oram's loss may not be as crucial. Also the batting ability of Kyle Mills, Jeff Wilson and Andre Adams is more than adequate.

In tests, his loss is massive and he is nigh irreplaceable. .

Tama Canning is doing great things for Auckland this season. 127 runs at 42.33 and 16 wickets at 16.5 is impressive. However Tama is very much medium pace and, while he can extract good movement, he would struggle to be penetrative at test level. Andre Adams is a good quick bowler when in rhythm, mentally and physically, but he can only really command a bowling spot at the next level. His batting is exciting and more than useful in the dying overs but is unlikely to get above the No 8 position.

Jeff Wilson, we all know, is a capable cricketer but he is first and foremost a bowler. His first-class record boasts a very impressive bowling average of 24.13, whereas with the bat he has only managed to average 21.84, with no hundreds yet.

Joey Yovich is a key member of the Northern District team and but to be frank, both his disciplines are well below test level right now.

We just don't have another Jacob Oram so don't try to replace him - because he will need to be replaced with two players.

With Oram gone, we have one option - pick the best six batsmen, the best four bowlers and Brendon McCullum. Anything else is a bonus.

Taylor's Tally

The only New Zealander ever to score a century and take five wickets in an innings was Wellington's Bruce Taylor against India in 1965. Latter-day players like Chris Cairns have had fine hauls at batting (5 test centuries) and bowling (13 five-wicket hauls) but never in the same innings.