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Auckland: 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."
