KEY POINTS:
New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram's ongoing joust with injury continued today after breaking a finger which may threaten his place in the test cricket series against West Indies next month.
Oram suffered a hairline fracture to his left index finger attempting a sharp catch in the gully for Central Districts in their State Championship cricket match against Northern Districts in Hamilton.
It was Oram's first match since injuring his back in the first test against Bangladesh in Chittagong more than a month ago.
He opted to skip the current series against Australia to recover.
"I've got to a point now where I wasn't disappointed, I just had a laugh," Oram told Radio Sport today.
"I just thought `who have I annoyed so much to keep throwing this at me'.
"Hopefully it's character-building."
An x-ray cleared him of any tendon damage but it is uncertain how much impact the injury will have on the 30-year-old.
Oram reckons he has suffered at least five broken fingers in his career and if swelling reduces is keen to play a role in the final three days at Seddon Park.
"But to what extent, I don't know," he said.
"There's no point going out there if I'm going to do myself or the team a disservice, especially with the big picture in mind.
"This has thrown a spanner in the works but it could be worse."
The worst case scenario could see it take up to a month for the fracture to heal.
The first test against the West Indies in Dunedin starts on December 11.
Oram was so desperate to prove his fitness that he continued bowling a short spell today after suffering the injury.
" I've got to show that I'm bowling-fit and capable of getting through overs," he said.
"While I could still bowl and the right arm and the right hand were still functioning properly I thought I'd just continue bowling my overs.
"When I finished that spell, I came off, got it iced."
Oram bowled three maidens in his four-over spell.
- NZPA
