Oram was left out against Australia as precaution

The decision to leave out Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, from the match against Australia was taken as a precautionary measure ahead of New Zealand's semi-final against Sri Lanka on April 24, said coach John Bracewell.

"One of the reasons he is not playing is precautionary, so he does not suffer any further damage," Bracewell told stuff.co.nz. Oram suffered from a recurring heel injury all summer. Shortly before the start of the World Cup he also broke his left ring finger and was forced to sit out of New Zealand's first game in West Indies. Bracewell gave assurance that Oram, a key player for New Zealand, would be fine for the semis.

With the recent quitting of Greg Chappell as the Indian coach and Duncan Fletcher as England coach, questions are being raised about the futures of other international coaches as well. Bracewell chose to remain vague on his coaching plans after the World Cup. "I'll leave it until after the tournament because I don't want anything to distract me or our team from the job at hand," he said.

"World Cups put pressure on coaches and there are a lot of us who may have their jobs up for grabs at the end of this tournament or have fallen by the wayside already," he added.

Bracewell's contract comes up for renewal at the end of the World Cup and he said there was nothing to do but wait and see.