Jacob Oram enjoyed the IPL experience – except for bowling to the world’s top batsmen. He speaks about life in the multi-million dollar league, and settling back into a more sedate pace of cricket on the England tour
Interview by Andrew McGlashan12-May-2008
Jacob Oram went at over nine runs an over in the IPL, so a return to first-class cricket has been a pleasant experience © Getty Images
Less than two weeks ago you were in India, and now it’s the likes of Chelmsford and Southampton. That’s the life of an international cricketer these days.
It’s chalk and cheese really, out in India with all the heat and humidity, playing in front of 50-60,000 – and also the Twenty20 version of the game. It’s a lot different coming here, but it’s also pretty cool because this is the Test tour everyone wants to be on. I was disappointed to leave the fanfare of India, but there’s nothing better than an England tour.Will the IPL have changed your life in the long term?
Financially speaking, most definitely. What you can earn over there in a year is a career – or at least a good three or four years – for New Zealand, so it’s certainly security for my future and my family. That’s a good thing, but I’ve also got to be careful that New Zealand, and what I’m doing here, is still priority number one and not the other way round. The IPL is great and I think it will only get bigger and better and improve cricket, but New Zealand is number one.There is a lot of discussion about players possibly curtailing their international careers because of the IPL. But could it also work the other way? With some IPL money behind them, players could relax at the top level and express themselves.
It might ease the pressures, especially surrounding injury and selection. Say, if playing for New Zealand is your only source of income and you are in and out of the team because of injury or form, then most definitely, if you have that security behind you from India then I can only see it easing a bit of that stress on you. But again, you’ve got to be careful and make sure you do the job for New Zealand because, personally, that was the springboard for being chosen for the IPL. It wasn’t through the back door, but through seven or eight years of playing for New Zealand. I’ve just got to remember that, it’s my foundation and where I have to be strong and playing well.Did your stint in India ever make you regret being an allrounder? Didn’t batting look the most fun part?
On a couple of occasions I questioned what the hell I was doing. I mean the wickets are flat out there … the quality of batsmen – it was the best players in the world; and I was having to open the bowling for Chennai due to our lack of bowling depth. It’s a job I hardly did for my first-class state, let alone New Zealand. Then I was thrust in against [Sanath] Jayasuriya, [Sourav] Ganguly, [Brendon] McCullum, so it was an eye-opener, but to tell you the truth, I learnt a lot from it. The stats probably don’t show that, but in the four games I got better and learnt a lot about my bowling in Twenty20.In your first spell at the Rose Bowl against the England Lions, you started with five maidens. It must be nice to come back to a stage where there is some respect for the good-length ball?
Before my first over at Chelmsford [against Essex], Kyle Mills was at mid-off and he threw me the ball before I started my first spell and said, ‘At least you know this over will go for under ten’. So it was nice to come back to first-class cricket. You are bowling on wickets that have a little bit more in them and guys are going to respect the bowling a little more. You can get away with the odd loose-ish ball.Before my first over at Chelmsford, Kyle Mills was at mid-off and he threw me the ball before I started my first spell and said, ‘At least you know this over will go for under ten’ Does that show that cricket is at its best when there is a greater balance between bat and ball?
Twenty20 is entertainment and I think what you are seeing from crowds both domestically and internationally is, it’s a game people want to watch. At first, a couple of years ago, I was a little bit undecided about the format, but now I think it’s here to stay and will probably only get bigger. Half of me doesn’t like when I have to bowl, and the other half is loving it.Ideally, I think you have to find a little bit more for the bowlers, and the only thing I can think of is possibly larger boundaries. They tend to pull them in to increase the fours and sixes. In India they were 65 metres, which is half a hit for most of those guys. Something around 70-75 metres, just to give the bowlers some breathing space, might be an idea. The good players will still hit the ball out of the park and bad balls will go to the boundary, but you just have to be careful. As it stands now, people are loving it. I might have a couple of gripes about it but it’s a pretty cool game.What was it like being brought together with a lot of the best players in the world from a personal, learning experience? Did it give you a better idea of your standing?
There was one incident, a net I had, where I was bowling at Matthew Hayden and I came around the wicket. He stopped me mid-spell and questioned why I was doing it, what my tactics would be and where my field would be. I do think about it, but it got me considering it more deeply. Why am I doing certain things? It wasn’t a criticising thing from him, it was purely speculative and trying to get me thinking. We talked about it and it’s things like that, or just talking to Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] about the way he bowls. Even watching certain players in the nets and the way they train – how hard they work to be the best in world – you realise you have to step it up a notch.But did it feel like a proper team out there? You are now back with New Zealand – have you noticed huge differences?
That was one of the things I was really happy with. It wasn’t just a team of local players, the Indian stars and the internationals; there was very much a team feel. I don’t know what we can put that down to – good management, good people in the team, but it was certainly a gelled unit.You could see that with four wins out of four [for Chennai] to start the tournament, and on a couple of occasions we probably won from positions that we should have lost. I think that was down to us just pushing a bit harder for each other. We had some good guys who created a good atmosphere in the team with a lot of humour and banter.
Something needs to be done to level the playing field a little between bat and ball. ‘Ideally somehow I think you have to find a little bit more for the bowlers’ © Getty Images
The explosion of Twenty20 has raised questions about the future of Test cricket. As a player about to embark on a Test series, is that still the level that really matters?
If you ask most players, Test cricket is the be-all and end-all. That’s what you’ll be remembered for. Not to disrespect it, but it won’t be for your IPL stats or your Twenty20 numbers. People will say he was a great player because he averaged 50 in Test cricket and scored runs all around the world. I think that’s what the people who know and love the game realise, and for the time being we don’t want that to change.Twenty20 is an awesome invention and will boost cricket. We are already seeing that, with the public coming to the matches and the viewing figures on TV – it’s just going through the roof. That’s great for cricket, but it shouldn’t be at the detriment of Test cricket, which is the pinnacle.The impact, though, of Twenty20 is already being felt, especially when it comes to scoring-rates and the aggression of batsmen.
I guess it’s already transforming Test cricket a little bit. You don’t often see games going to five days, let alone drawn matches. But again, that’s entertainment; it’s what people want now. They want results and fast-paced stuff. If a Test finishes in four days and you get a win, everyone is satisfied except for the losing team.So when you walk out at Lord’s on Thursday morning there won’t be any niggle that you could be earning a little more in India?
Like I said, this is the tour you want to be on. The tradition, the heritage, everything about it. And to get on the honours board anywhere in the world, but especially at Lord’s, is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. If you had a five-wicket haul or a hundred and had to retire the next day you’d probably still be fairly happy because you have achieved a very significant milestone.You haven’t completed many series in your career due a variety of injuries. How are you shaping up this time?
Touch wood, it’s all okay. I missed the last Test in New Zealand, but had a good two weeks off trying to build the fitness up for India. It was actually a godsend going to India, because it gave me a chance to get outside to train and play. Admittedly it’s only four overs, but it’s a high-intensity four overs – better than indoors if I’d been training in New Zealand. But it was also being able to train in those hot conditions, and getting up to speed against good players. It was a great stepping stone for me coming into this tour, and so far I think I’m reaping the benefits.Being the key allrounder in the side brings a heavy workload. Can you see a time when the bowling will have to take a back seat, when the body starts to say, ‘That’s enough’?
I think so, but I’m not sure of the answer and I try not to think about it. I’d be kidding myself if I thought I could get through the next three or four years as a full allrounder. It’s not enjoyable to play three months and then have two off with another injury, but hopefully that’s a way down the line just yet.All IPL matches are exclusively live on Setanta Sports in the UK