Cricket: Vettori ideal Oram replacement

Jacob Oram yesterday announces his retirement from test cricket in Christchurch. Photo / Simon Baker

The impact of Jacob Oram's test retirement yesterday is likely to be seen as early as next month when Pakistan arrive for their three-match series.

It could lead to a reconfiguration of the New Zealand team and when the selectors cast about for Oram's replacement, three of them need only look across the table at the fourth man.

Captain Dan Vettori has impressive allround credentials and to those who argue his batting methods can be unorthodox, he could suggest they simply look at the statistics.

Four test hundreds, 3484 runs at 29.77 over 93 tests - which leaps to 39.92 over his last 30 tests - plus the small matter of 302 wickets at 33.26 speak eloquently.

Two examples of why he is the person to step up, whether he bats at No 6 or No 7: in Bangladesh late last year, his second innings 76, grafted over 4h 20min after promoting himself to No 4, got New Zealand out of a potential pickle to win in Chittagong.

Then at Hamilton this year, coming in at 60 for six just before lunch on the first morning of the first test against India, Vettori hit 118, adding 186 with Jesse Ryder for the seventh wicket. The test was ultimately lost, but it could have been in far more embarrassing fashion but for the skipper.

So if Vettori moves up to No 6 - or wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, the pair could be interchangeable at 6 and 7 - it will open the door for an extra bowling option, but with the proviso that someone will have to be found at No 8 who can contribute runs. A tail from No 8 is not on.

The option? Pick six specialist batsmen, leave McCullum and Vettori - or Vettori and McCullum - at No's 7 and 8.

Oram's decision is a smart one in a personal sense. His departure from the test game will disappoint those who make a living out of medical mishaps; since his debut against India in December 2002, Oram has missed 20 tests for various reasons.

The demands of pounding a 1.98m frame, covered by about 100kg, at the bowling crease, has taken a toll. His desire to continue his ODI and Twenty20 careers came through emphatically yesterday, with the World Cup in 2011 a primary focus.

He'll drop down the pecking order on the New Zealand Cricket contract list, where those available for both test and limited-over cricket are better rewarded.

However, there are Twenty20 riches around; Oram is heading into the third and final season of his US$675,000 ($915,000) contract with the Chennai franchise in the Indian Premier League.

He is 31, and his first child is due in a month; he knows his time at the top is running out, so for Oram it became a case of how best to utilise the remaining seasons at the top.

Oram didn't fancy giving away bowling to take his chances as a specialist batsman. He had been a two-for-one player for the last 10 years. Putting away the bowling boots was not on.

So how will he be remembered? His contrasting hundreds against Australia in 2004 - 126 against McGrath, Gillespie and Warne, bristling with thunderous blows - and England at Lord's last year when his gritty 101 saved the test, are sharpest in the mind.

He took 11 wickets in his first two tests, against India in 2002, on pitches which looked more like billiard tables, but became a stock man rather than a cutting edge operator with the ball.

Oram had fine test moments, maybe not enough. He can still do a job in the short games . The proof that he's making the right decision will be seen in the middle.