"For 12 overs we were on top but it's also a reality check on the Twenty20 game," says the former Black Caps allrounder who late last week returned to Palmerston North from Bangladesh where he was playing for the Gazi Tank Cricketers in their limited-overs competition.
"I had to return home for a family gathering, something I couldn't miss," says the 1.98m tall left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler who considers himself a "freelance cricketer".
Oram said he enjoyed his first foray into the Bangladesh Premier League, which is still going in Dhaka and where he may return after weighing up his options with what's happening here.
"I was pretty impressed. It's exceptionally run," says the cricketer whose wife Mara and two sons, Patrick, 4, and 1-year-old Thomas are based in Palmy.
The Bangladesh competition boasts imports such as Scott Styris, Brendan Taylor, Ravi Bopara, Eion Morgan and Ryan ten Doeschate.
Before that, the 33-test veteran, who has played 160 ODIs and 36 T20s for his country, was plying his trade for the Indian Premier League Champions Mumbai Indians.
"I was just a net bowler for Mumbai and I played just one game because they had a lot of quality players."
He gave up an English county contract with Worcestershire to undergo hernia surgery in June.
Oram relinquished his New Zealand Cricket contract last December to become a short-game professional for hire globally.
Given the opportunity, he would jump to play for the struggling Black Caps who've had a mediocre tour of the subcontinent.
He emphasises he hasn't retired from all forms of international cricket but just test, which he last played in 2009.
"I'm not officially expecting to be picked but if they ask me to I will play," he says, adding he lived only two floors above the New Zealand team hotel in Dhaka.
He had had discussions with coach Mike Hesson but accepts making the 2015 World Cup in New Zealand isn't on his agenda.
"I agree with Hesson that giving the young a go is the thing and I'm not concerned with that."
While overseas, Oram had kept in touch with Malan and CD director of cricket Craig Ross.
"I'm not a contracted player with CD and I don't have any special HRV Cup contract.
"I'm a CD player and that's probably how I'll retire and it'll probably be my last summer.
"There's no third party sponsorship ... so it's still my job and it pays my bills at home."
The interwoven nature of domestic cricket here - with T20s threaded between four-day Plunket Shield matches - complicates matters a little.
"I'm probably going to play club and Hawke Cup cricket to keep myself ticking over."
CD's next game is on December 27, against ND in Nelson.
CD CEO Hugh Henderson says it's exciting that Oram is available earlier.
"He's a competition-by-competition prospect at this stage," says Henderson.
Non-contracted players called in for the Ford Trophy one-dayers from March will receive $715 a game and $1475 for first-class encounters.
Oram describes the twilight of his career as a catch-22 situation with travelling and raising a young family.
"When I was 22 to 24 years I couldn't fathom it but now I fully understand why so many guys retire."
Doing a TV commentary stint is among jobs he's considering.
He draws an analogy with his remarkable cricketing career as a book and he's focusing on the last chapter.
