Oram and Vettori take out world double-wicket prize

New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram hit the only century of the tournament to win the inaugural Double Wicket World Championship in partnership with Daniel Vettori in St Lucia today.

The New Zealand pair beat Sri Lanka, who were represented by Aravinda de Silva and Mahela Jayawardene.

After being named the player of the tournament Oram talked about his approach to the game when batting.

"You throw your bat early on, it comes off, you ride your luck. I guess I was a little bit charmed overall."

"It's good to win any sort of trophy, even in an abbreviated form of the game. We'll take that confidence with us into the tour of Sri Lanka."

The tournament has been a breath of fresh air after the pressure of the World Cup. Team-mate Vettori said "It was just good fun. All the matches had a competitive edge, and all the guys here seemed to enjoy it."

Commenting on the format of the competition, Vettori added more praise: "It's great having the licence to go out and play shots. It's a great ground, and the tournament was really well organised."

Oram felt that the Double Wicket was beneficial to his overall game: "It's good practice for the death period of a one-day game. And losing 10 runs when you lose a wicket means that you have to hit big shots without getting yourself out."

Earlier, in beating England in their semi-final, the New Zealanders had posted the highest team score of the tournament with 113 runs.

The preliminary games were played over eight overs, the semi-finals over 10 overs and the final was a 12-over match.

Sri Lanka batted first in the final and scored 70 runs but de Silva was twice out while scoring 47.

The New Zealanders started aggressively in their response and Oram hit 15 sixes in his 106, with his 50 coming off 17 balls and his century off 40 balls.

At the end of their 12 overs, the New Zealanders were 149 with Oram 106 and Vettori 37. New Zealand claimed a 79-run win.

The New Zealanders had batted first against England in the semi-final. They scored 113 with Oram hitting 52, with three huge sixes, and Vettori scored 36.

England were represented by Andrew Flintoff and Adam Hollioake.

England, with the penalties coming into effect, needed to score 94 to win but were held to 40 as Vettori took seven for 59 and Oram two for 70.

New Zealand's route to success:

Group 2 round-robin matches:

Sri Lanka 26 (Mahela Jayawardene 26, Aravinda de Silva -3; Daniel Vettori 3-28, Jacob Oram 0-28) lost to New Zealand 31 (Vettori 42, Oram -3; Jayawardene 2-33, de Silva 1-27) by five runs.

South Africa 34 (Steve Elworthy 19, Allan Donald 14; Vettori 0-20, Oram 0-13) lost to New Zealand 73 (Oram 48, Vettori 21; Elworthy 1-35, Donald 0-47) by 39 runs.

Australia 53 (John Davison 24, Greg Blewett 27; Vettori 0-43, Oram 2-30) lost to New Zealand 57 (Vettori 19, Oram 33; Blewett 1-45, Davison 1-27) by four runs.

Semi-final:

New Zealand 93 (Oram 52, Vettori 36; Adam Hollioake 2-41, Andrew Flintoff 0-70) beat England 40 (Flintoff 9, Hollioake 25; Vettori 7-59, Oram 2-70) by 53 runs.

Final:

Sri Lanka 70 (de Silva 47, Jayawardene 22; Vettori 2-49, Oram 1-50) lost to New Zealand 149 (Oram 106, Vettori 37; de Silva 0-82, Jayawardene 2-84) by 79 runs.