Cricket: Oram cements the No 6 spot

By MARK GEENTY in London

Jacob Oram said he was not happy batting at No 8, and he made an even clearer statement with the willow yesterday to try to put a halt to coach John Bracewell's tinkering with the order.

New Zealand were hauled up from a tenuous spot on day one of the three-test series against England at Lord's by Oram's dominant display at No 6 - arguably the best of his five test scores of 50-plus to date.

His unbeaten 64 off 75 balls lifted New Zealand from 174 for four after winning the toss, as he and Mark Richardson added 106 in the gathering gloom to close at 284 for five.

Oram's knock again raised the question as to why he was forced to slog with the tailenders at No 8 against South Africa, although the headache for Bracewell has been a happy one, with Chris Cairns and Brendon McCullum all pushing for the pivotal No 6 spot.

Bracewell said before the test that all three were interchangeable from six to eight, and in the precarious situation with the new ball still 19 overs away, Oram got the nod.

Coming into the series with a 10-test batting average of 42.50 and bowling average of 26.41, Oram is well on the way to becoming the world's top allrounder.

Playing his first test against England, his opponents were impressed.

"He was sensible, he didn't swing at every ball, he picked the balls to hit and played very well," England paceman Simon Jones said.

Oram got under way with a brace of straight drives off Stephen Harmison up the Lord's hill into the fence at the members' stand, then took to spinner Ashley Giles with five fours, three of them off the first ball of each over.

The run fest from Oram and Nathan Astle, whose 64 came off 77 balls, showed how good the Lord's pitch was and how hard the job for the bowlers would be.

"It's not a blast-them-out wicket. It's pretty slow, to be honest. Five in the day, the boys will be happy with that," Jones said after claiming the wickets of captain Stephen Fleming for 34 and Scott Styris, third ball.

In contrast was Richardson, who battled into his seventh hour at the crease before falling to an unlucky leg-before decision for 93 in the day's penultimate over.

Television replays showed he got an inside edge on to his pad.

New Zealand's ever-reliable opener reaffirmed his class after a disappointing South Africa series, averaging 22 from five innings.

It was Richardson's third test score in the 90s and his seventh between 80 and 100, and he was typically candid about it. "It was pretty dour, miserable, pokey and proddy really, but probably required in the situation."

Richardson had some luck, a missed run out by Matthew Hoggard on 51 and a dropped catch by Ashley Giles on 56, but he continually frustrated England's bowlers with his stonewalling.

- NZPA