Jacob Oram has been named in the ODI and Twenty20 squads to face Zimbabwe, but claims the competition for spots is as high as ever and believes that can only mean good things for the BLACKCAPS side.
“The competition is tight and that’s a great thing for New Zealand Cricket,” said Oram.
“The more guys we’ve got guys knocking on the door and putting pressure on the senior players the better, because it just raises everyone’s’ standards.”
The 33 year-old also acknowledges that his role within the team has changed in the latter stages of his career, but he isn’t fazed as long as he’s still on the field.
“If I’m in the eleven that’s all I really care about.
“There is more emphasis on my bowling. I feel like I’m stepping up with the ball and my stats over the last eighteen months have shown that and I feel like I bowled pretty well in the HRV Cup. ”
While he may be called on with the ball more often, Oram still feels that he can still contribute with the bat when required.
“I still work on it. The skills are still there. I might not work on it as much as when I was a Test batsman at number six, but the desire is still there to score runs. I don’t want to turn into a number 11.“
But Oram admits that as long as he’s in the team he’s happy with any role that’s given to him and wants to help make sure that the BLACKCAPS momentum from the Test victory follows through to the shorter formats of the game.
“They’ll be a lot more competitive (in the shorter formats) but I still see us winning and winning comprehensively if we play well. “
BLACKCAPS v Zimbabwe
First ODI - 3 February 2012
University Oval
11am start
