KEY POINTS:
Jacob Oram has taken a swipe at the criticism levelled at the Black Caps by former captain Martin Crowe.
The allrounder missed the Australian series through injury but is confident he will be named on Saturday in the squad to face the West Indies.
Crowe has been vehement in his criticism of the Leading Teams consultancy company that has been working with the side. Crowe has blamed much of the Black Caps' woeful batting form on the company's methods.
The Leading Teams consulting company is used by professional sports teams and companies in New Zealand and Australia, working recently with three New Zealand Super 14 rugby franchises and with incoming coach Andy Moles' Northern Districts provincial team.
Crowe said methods used by the consulting firm employed for the last two years by outgoing coach John Bracewell, had damaged players' confidence.
"In the dressing room there is a bunch of consultants ... handing out forms at the end of each day's play," Crowe said.
"They don't know anything about cricket, by the way, but they are asking players to fill in forms assessing each other's behaviour and then have a peer assessment.
"I'm sorry, but this is not the way you go about allowing cricketers to express themselves. It plays with young kids' minds. Imagine yourself being 19 and being asked to assess other people in the team's behaviour."
However, Oram who has declared himself fit and available for next week's first test against the West Indies, says Crowe's criticism is way off the mark. He says he should get the facts right because they are not sitting down and filling out forms for 30 or 40 minutes everyday. He emphasises that it just does not happen that way, and only takes five to 10 minutes.
Oram says he is all for it and he does not know how Crowe thinks it works within their side because he has not been in the environment for many years.
Oram has also leapt to the defence of Bracewell who he says is the best coach he has worked under, even though the results have not been great.
Oram was invalided out of the tour of Bangladesh with a back injury in late October but returned to action with Central Districts last week and bowled a total of 36 overs.
He will play in the four-day match against Otago beginning tomorrow at Napier
- NEWSTALK ZB, AP
