Cairns and Oram to play

Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram will be fit to play against Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, which starts in Auckland on Saturday.

Both suffered from back injuries during the South African tour, Cairns returning home to Lincoln University to strengthen his back, while Oram was unable to bowl and played as a specialist batsman.

Cairns was, understandably, enthusiastic about returning to the side, “Watching my team lose was hard to take, especially when you’re sitting on your backside half away around the world, On the other hand it allowed me to get back and play some cricket and strip my game apart and re-build it over the last couple of months and just get a little bit of bowling under my belt.”

Their returns will be a big boost to New Zealand, who will be hoping to emulate their recent Rugby successes against the Australians.