Oram confident broken finger is fine

Jacob Oram believes his broken finger will not be a hindrance at the World Cup, despite joking he would have it cut off if required. Oram top-scored with 88 in New Zealand's first warm-up match against Bangladesh and said the innings had given him confidence he was overcoming the injury.

Oram struck career-best form during the CB Series in Australia, scoring his first ODI hundred as well as two destructive half-centuries. However, in the first Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match last month he broke the ring finger on his left hand taking a catch in the outfield.

The timing of his injury led Oram to quip that he would have the finger amputated if it was going to stop him playing at the World Cup, a comment he now regrets. "There's probably no need to make light of injuries, especially the amount I've had," he told Reuters.

"In hindsight, the coverage that that comment got was a little bit silly I thought, so I regret saying that. I thought I had a smile wide enough to show that I was kidding anyway."

Oram's innings against Bangladesh continued his outstanding season and put to rest any concerns the finger, which is still healing, would make him a less damaging batsman. "Once I started getting the confidence in my hands again I was all go," he said.

"What I did learn is if I actually try to catch the ball and stop the ball properly, my finger's nowhere near it anyway. So it's just trying to get that technique right." Oram said picking up balls on the ground with his left hand remained a problem, but he was gradually improving.

New Zealand continue their World Cup warm-up with a game against Sri Lanka on Friday. Their campaign proper opens next Friday when they meet England in St Lucia.