Former all-rounder Jacob Oram appointed New Zealand cricket team’s bowling coach

Former New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has been appointed as the bowling coach of the New Zealand men’s cricket team. He replaces Shane Jurgensen in the role.

Oram was in the same role when New Zealand toured Bangladesh last year, during New Zealand’s home T20Is against Australia and during New Zealand’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 sojourn in the USA and the West Indies in June earlier this year. The New Zealand cricket board has now made the appointment official.

The former all-rounder will officially start his duties from October 7, 2024.

A veteran of 229 matches for New Zealand (33 Tests, 160 ODIs, 36 T20Is), Oram ventured into coaching in 2014 as the bowling coach of the New Zealand A side. He was then appointed as the bowling coach of the New Zealand women’s cricket team, commonly known as the White Ferns, in 2018 till 2021, culminating with the World Cup.

In franchise cricket, Oram was the assistant coach of Northern Warriors in the Abu Dhabi T10 league. He also served as the bowling coach of Mumbai Indians Cape Town in the SA20, South Africa’s premier domestic T20 league.

Oram, in a media statement, said he was delighted to be working with the New Zealand men’s cricket team, commonly known as Black Caps, again. “I am really excited to have the opportunity to be involved with the Black Caps again. To be back involved with a team that means so much to me and has been a big part of my life is a real honour. The recent opportunities I’ve had have been a great insight into where this team is going and I’m excited to continue that work in the coming seasons,” he said.

Oram added that with new talent coming up, he would hope to share the nuances of international cricket and shape them up for the grind. “There’s a fresh new wave of talent coming through in the Black Caps bowling ranks and I hope that I can share my knowledge and experience to help best prepare them for the challenges of international cricket,” he added.

The all-rounder played for more than a decade and competed in three ODI World Cups and four T20 World Cups.