Jacob Oram retires from test cricket

Jacob Oram has announced his retirement from Test cricket but will continue to play one-day and Twenty20 matches for New Zealand. Oram cited his ongoing injury problems as the reason behind his decision and he hoped that by cutting back his workload he would be able to extend his international career.

Oram, 31, recently returned home from the Champions Trophy in South Africa with a hamstring problem, the latest in a long and wide-ranging list of injuries. His troubles have included back and foot worries and have limited him to 33 Test appearances over a seven-year career.

He had spoken in the past of the options available to him to prolong his career and he said his preference was to give up Tests rather than abandon bowling. Oram has now done just that, following the lead of another injury-prone allrounder Andrew Flintoff.

"The last few years have shown that my body cannot handle the strains and stresses that come with being an allrounder, playing all three formats for up to ten months a year," Oram said. "For the sake of longevity I have had to make a decision that will decrease my workload, so I can concentrate all my efforts on the shorter forms of the game.

"The decision to choose limited-overs cricket over Test cricket has a lot to do with playing opportunities. The Black Caps play a lot more limited-overs cricket than Tests, and there's also the opportunity to continue playing in world events such as the World Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy, as well as the IPL."

Another Kiwi player who if not for his injuries, could've been a very good player.

Well done, Big Jake.

Didn't quite realise his full potential but showed plenty of glimpses.

Many in NZ suspect that he's a bit soft.

He was probably at his peak between 2004 and 2006. It looked like he could become a world class all rounder at that stage. His bowling has fallen away a lot in the last 2 years, and his batting has never really got going recently either.

So who'll be the next all rounder to retire from test cricket to focus on making a fortune in T20 cricket? Watson anyone?

His bowling has fallen away a lot in the last 2 years.

He took just 1 wicket in his last 5 tests.

Useful player... definitely. As with someone like Flintoff it is actually his batting that has disappointed - should have kicked on really.

SG wrote:Another Kiwi player who if not for his injuries, could've been a very good player.

Yeah, right

All kiwis are shit.

SG wrote:

His bowling has fallen away a lot in the last 2 years.

He took just 1 wicket in his last 5 tests.

He did tend to be used as Mr Negative in the bowling department, didn't give much away but at the expense of wicket-taking threat. An exciting batsman but a boring bowler!

Genuine all-rounders who bowl fast/medium pace are always likely to have their careers cut short by injury problems, a lot of it is down to the typical build of such players. They either have to give up bowling or concentrate on one form of the game as they get older, it's not realistic to expect them to be doing everything until their mid 30s. Kallis is perhaps an exception but he's reduced his bowling workload in recent years. As with Flintoff you can't blame this on T20/IPL etc - it would have happened in any era.

Brass Monkey wrote:Useful player... definitely. As with someone like Flintoff it is actually his batting that has disappointed - should have kicked on really.

Couldn't play short bowling to save his life.

Since when did New Zealand play test cricket anyway?

I'll retire from test cricket as well then.

He was well and truly Sidebottom's bunny. Looked completely clueless against him.

The day Vettori retires, will be the day when NZ fall into the minnow category.


Not sure if Taylor, Ryder or Guptill will be able to hold their own over a prolonged period.

Ross Taylor has so much natural ability it's ridiculous. If he can become less impetuous at the start of his innings' then I reckon he could become one of the top 5 batsmen in the world.

Ryder is also talented, but he's fatter and lazier than Taylor and I bet he remains a talent unfulfilled throughout his career.

I agree with what your saying. They've got the potench but always fall short. Slashing, hooking or playing some outrageous drive to a ball that isn't there.


They need to learn from the mistakes of players like McCullum who for the life of him doesn't know the meaning of, 'digging your heels in' (when it comes to test cricket).


As for Guptill, he has the same problem, and struggles in the field. Lots to work on and plenty more headaches to come for the NZ management.