Jacob Oram is one of the best all rounders to ever play for New Zealand and he is one of the few New Zealand players to be good with both bat and ball. Jacob Oram was an underrated player and very few people remember him. He was a much better player than that. He played 33 Test Matches for New Zealand as well as 160 ODIs and 36 T20IS. He made 1780 runs in test cricket at an average of 36.33. He also scored 2434 runs in ODIs and 474 runs in T20IS. He was also a very handy bowler as he took 60 Wickets in test cricket, 173 in ODIs and 19 in T20IS. In total he made 4688 runs and took 252 international wickets.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Batting Performances of Jacob Oram
1) 133 vs South Africa (2006)
This was the highest score by Jacob Oram In international cricket and this was an innings that made him one of the most destructive all rounders in international cricket. Even though New Zealand lost the match, this 133 from just 169 balls will always be special. He batted at a strike rate of 79 and he smashed 18 fours and 2 sixes in this Innings meaning 84 runs in boundaries. This Innings was like an ODI innings in a test match. Jacob Oram showed the world what he was capable of.
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2) 126 vs Australia (2004)
New Zealand lost this match by an innings and 156 runs but still this Innings deserves to be on this list because Jacob Oram made these brilliant hundreds against the best test team in history against the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. He only took 178 balls to hit this hundred at a strike rate of 71. He hit 12 fours and 3 sixes In this innings meaning 66 runs in boundaries. Jacob Oram was showing the world that playing fearless cricket against the best will always yield results.
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3) 119* vs South Africa (2004)
This was his first test Hundred and a very special one at that because this hundred came in a situation when New Zealand were in trouble. Jacob Oram hit 119 runs from 216 balls which is slower than he was used to. He hit 19 fours meaning 76 runs in boundaries and at a strike rate of 55. Due to his innings the match was a draw and he was the man who saved New Zealand from getting beaten. Jacob Oram had arrived in test cricket and this 119 showed that he can play proper test cricket.
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4) 117 vs Bangladesh (2008)
This is the only test century on this list in which New Zealand won the match so this had to be on this list. This innings came against Bangladesh in 2008 meaning Jacob Oram was great in test cricket since 2004 till now. Jacob Oram played for 166 balls for his 117 at a strike rate of 70.5. He smashed 17 fours and 1 six meaning 74 runs in boundaries. Jacob Oram did not allow the Bangladesh Bowles to settle and he was on a rampage. New Zealand won this test match by 9 wickets.
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5) 101* vs Australia (2007)
This was a very high scoring match and Australia batted first and they made a huge 343 and that was a match winning score at that time. It was all over for New Zealand but Jacob Oram said not now. He only took 72 balls to hit 101* at a great strike rate of over 140 which was unheard of at that time. He absolutely smashed 4 fours and 6 sixes in this incredible innings meaning 60 runs in boundaries. New Zealand lost the match by just 8 runs but this was his first and only century in ODIs and what a memorable one it was.
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