KEY POINTS:
Jacob Oram makes no bones about the lengths he will go to in order to stay in New Zealand's World Cup cricket squad.
Oram, who fractured the ring finger on his left hand during the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy one-dayer on February 16, left for the Caribbean with the side today armed with an array of unusual items in his carry-on baggage.
They are the sort of accessories sure to pique the interest of Customs at Los Angeles International.
The allrounder has been issued with four custom-made splints to protect the damaged finger on his left hand, including a fibreglass-style sheath that has to be boiled and then moulded to his rehabilitating digit.
Painkilling injections are another option and, if all else fails, Oram made the startling and presumably serious admission that amputation was a consideration.
"If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the worse case scenario, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this," he said.
Fingers crossed the hard-hitting Oram will not have to take such drastic measures to get through his second World Cup although the digit will not really be tested until the squad arrive in the Caribbean on Friday (NZT).
Practice is scheduled in Barbados the following day, the first opportunity for Oram to potentially field and grip a bat.
New Zealand have warm-up games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka before opening their pool play against England on March 16 in St Lucia.
Oram is unsure whether he will be ready to play by then.
"I don't really know how the finger is," he told NZPA.
"The plan is get to the West Indies, whip it off and assess the inflammation.
"We've got a couple of techniques in terms of taping and a couple of guards which are a lot thinner so they can fit into a batting glove.
"I'm confident it'll be fine. The beauty of the batting glove is when the other three fingers and your thumb start bending the other one has got no option."
Catching, which got him into this mess in the first place, is also an unknown quantity although the fact his finger fractured when folding inwards could be an advantage.
"I've talked to a few of the docs and they don't feel it will affect me if I get a ball coming at me straight on.
"The problem could be another high ball coming down."
Oram said it was ironic that of the four fingers he had broken, the one that caused the most damage was the least painful.
Footage showed him taking the catch at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, smiling, pausing and then letting loose with a stream of invective.
"It was a sting, like when you rip a nail up," he recalled.
"It didn't even hurt at the time and then I looked down and did a double take.
"You know when your fingers not going straight it's bad news. I thought the worst straight away - two weeks out from the World Cup and you're finger's going at right angles ...
"I've seen one replay where I look happy and then I'm swearing - it didn't go down well with mum."
- NZPA
