Oram misses out on Stags gig
CD match abandoned
Central Districts have gone for a change in assistant coach, dumping former Black Caps allrounder Jacob Oram and replacing him with Englishman Ben Smith.
Oram has been the Stags assistant for the past two seasons, and was a long-time CD player, but he lost out to the experience of Smith, who has coached at various levels in England and played two seasons for CD from 2000 to 2002.
Palmerston North’s Oram said he wished CD all the best and believed Smith, who he played alongside, would do a good job.
‘‘This is the route they decided to go with this season and potentially beyond,’’ Oram said. ‘‘It’s their decision and while I’m disappointed, I’ve got to live with it and move on.’’
CD have won the past two oneday titles.
Oram will continue to run Manawatu cricket’s grassed indoor wicket at Palmerston North Boys’ High School, and will continue doing contract worth for both organisations.
He said he was open to working for another association or somewhere overseas in the future, and would work for CD again.
Smith will work under head coach Heinrich Malan during the Twenty20 and one-day competitions.
Smith’s coaching experience and the fact he had played for CD in the past helped the powers that be, including chief executive Pete de Wet, make a decision.
‘‘I don’t think we ever looked at it as one over the other,’’ de Wet said. ‘‘We didn’t sit and go right, look at Jacob, look at Ben and make a decision.
‘‘Through the whole high performance process and re-jigging our plan in line with New Zealand Cricket, we spread our net slightly wider and looked at a different skill set and came up with Ben and decided he would fit the bill.’’
That meant Oram had to miss out.
‘‘It’s obviously difficult because he’s [Oram] worked with us in the past,’’ de Wet said. ‘‘I think at the end of the day we’ve got to do what we think is right for CD cricket.’’
De Wet said Smith was an accomplished player and accomplished coach.
Smith won’t be a specialist batting coach, but is there to provide a different perspective, de Wet said.
The 44-year-old Smith will arrive before CD’S next Plunket Shield game in Napier next week, and will be on board until the oneday campaign finishes in February.
Smith played a combined 733 matches for English counties Worcestershire and Leicestershire, and for CD.
He retired in 2010 and since then has coached in various roles at Worcestershire and Leicestershire, as well as with the England development squad.
‘‘I am absolutely delighted to be involved with the Stags this The Plunket Shield match between Wellington and Central Districts at the Basin Reserve has been abandoned.
The game was meant to start on Monday but due to the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country in the early hours on Monday morning, the game was delayed so engineers could assess the structural integrity of the buildings at the ground.
Engineers gave it the all clear and the match was given the goahead by local authorities but New Zealand Cricket decided proceeding with the game would be unfair on the players.
The four-day game was rescheduled to start yesterday but frequent aftershocks in Wellington have left players in no fit state to start the game.
season,’’ Smith said in a statement. ‘‘I am confident that my experience as a player and coach will add to the development and successes of this talented group of
‘‘It’s been two long days to be fair,’’ CD coach Heinrich Malan said. ‘‘It’s not ideal when people are not able to sleep and things like that.
‘‘At this stage it’s about looking after the welfare and health of the players.’’
The quake woke everyone up on Monday morning, then aftershocks on Monday night and yesterday morning made grabbing a few winks tough.
The plan was for the team to disperse and some had been on flights home.
Malan had tried to drive back to Hawke’s Bay but the roads were closed and he had to return to the hotel.
Advice from Christchurch, venue for the first test between the Black Caps and Pakistan, and Nelson, where the White Ferns will play Pakistan women, is more positive with both matches to start tomorrow as scheduled.
cricketers.’’
Smith, a ECB level four qualified coach, said he was looking forward to revisiting CD and working alongside Malan.