KEY POINTS:
Jacob Oram is hoping to hit the ground running this afternoon when New Zealand square off against England in their fourth tri-series one-dayer at the Adelaide Oval.
The all-rounder has been out of action since straining a hamstring in the test series against Sri Lanka, missing all of the one-dayers against the tourists, and the first three games of the tri-series.
However, with Oram called back into the squad after proving his fitness on the domestic circuit, New Zealand will welcome some extra balance in today's line-up.
"It's a time when it's exciting to be back," Oram said yesterday. "If it had gone on any longer there could have been question marks raised about my World Cup prospects. So it's nice to be back with a good playing period before that tournament.
"I'm ready to go. Thankfully the way we were handled at home was good, in that we had to be up to speed in terms of batting and bowling, and received lots of support and assistance along the way.
"There were a few smiles and a bit of a buzz when I joined up with the team and hopefully we can inject a little more excitement and enthusiasm into proceedings."
While Oram seems certain to play today, there is doubt over whether front-line paceman Kyle Mills will be also be recalled, and whether Shane Bond will be sufficiently fit to take his place as the spearhead of the attack.
Mills was rushed back to Australia at the same time as Oram despite still having question marks over his bowling form, and Bond needs to return from injury this afternoon if he's to stand any chance of completing the tour.
Oram said he'd listened to some of the criticism of the New Zealand team while recovering from his injury, and was aware that the cricketing public was now clamouring for a dramatic turnaround in fortunes, starting with tonight's game.
"I think the pressure's always there," he said. "The public always want us to win and to do well. Even if I was coming in at the start of the series I think the pressure would always be there.
"The fact that the results haven't gone our way doesn't change anything."
He said the showdown with England, who have already gained four points for their win against New Zealand at Hobart, was close to a must-win contest if his side was going to climb out of the mire and challenge for a place in the finals.
NZ v ENGLAND
Adelaide Oval, 4.30pm today
New Zealand:
Stephen Fleming (c), Nathan Astle, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel.
England:
Mal Loye, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Ed Joyce, Paul Collingwood, Andy Flintoff, Jamie Dalrymple, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Paul Nixon, Monty Panesar, James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Liam Plunkett, Chris Read, Chris Tremlett.
