Clippings: Oram's finger

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, March 8
New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram said on Thursday that a broken finger on his left hand would not stop him playing a full part in the World Cup which starts in the Caribbean next week.
The 28-year-old all-rounder broke his finger towards the end of last month andjoked that he would have it amputated if it looked like stopping him playing inthe tournament.He proved in Tuesday's warm-up defeat by Bangladesh that it had not limited his effectiveness as he top-scored for the Black Caps with 88."OnceI started getting the confidence in my hands again I was all go," he toldreporters on Thursday.
"But what I did learn is if I actually try to catch theball and stop the ball properly, my finger's nowhere near it anyway."
So it'sjust trying to get that technique right."
He said the one area of concern thatremained was picking up ground balls but that too was getting easier to dowithout affecting his injury.
Oram also spoke out over the furore caused by hisflippant comment that he would cut his finger off rather than give up his WorldCup opportunity.He said he now regretted making the joke which was reported asa serious comment in media across the world.
"There's probably no need to makelight of injuries, especially the amount I've had," he said."In hindsight thecoverage that that comment got was a little bit silly I thought so I regretsaying that."He said the comment was taken out of context.
"I thought I had asmile wide enough to show that I was kidding anyway."
Kiwis start their campaign proper onMarch 16 against England in St Lucia before playing fellow Group C opponents,Kenya (March 20) and Canada (March 22).