Oram could miss Australia series

Jacob Oram has injured a bone in his back and will be unable to play for the immediate future, New Zealand Cricket revealed on Wednesday. Oram, the Central Districts allrounder, had a scan on Tuesday which showed he had damaged the bone, but he will need to undergo further tests to determine the exact nature of the injury. There are fears that he has a stress fracture and, if so, this would rule him out of facing Australia when they visit in February and March. He could also miss the two Tests against Sri Lanka in April.

"The extent of the injury is yet to be determined," said a statement from NZC, "but will become clearer in a few days after he has a CT scan." Oram, 26, is an influential member of New Zealand's team: he has 35 Test wickets to his name, and averages more than 40 with the bat.

His team-mate, the left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, could undergo tests on his injured back if the pain does not subside. Vettori missed Wednesday's final charity match against the World XI at Hamilton after leaving the field in pain during the second match.