BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) - New Zealand batting hero Jacob Oram shunned comparisons with one of his country's great all-rounders Chris Cairns after he bludgeoned the Kiwis into contention against Australia here.
The imposing No.7, played his finest innings, clubbing 12 boundaries and three prodigious sixes in a vintage knock of 126, to bolster the Kiwi first innings to 353 after they had been struggling at 138 for five.
The 26-year-old giant, playing in his 16th Test, raised his second Test century after his unbeaten 119 against South Africa last March.
He then took to the all-star Australian bowling line-up, hoicking Michael Kasprowicz for successive sixes and slamming Jason Gillespie for six and four off consecutive balls.
Oram shrugged off comparisons with the bazooka-hitting Cairns, who has retired from Test cricket but continues to play in one-day internationals.
"He (Cairns) was good enough to do it from ball one and I'm not quite at that level yet," Oram said on Friday.
"I don't see myself as a natural hitter. Cairnsy's just an explosive player who can blow the game open from ball one ... whereas it probably takes me, as you've seen, nearly three sessions to do that."
Oram, the son of a former rugby player, said it was his greatest innings.
"It's my second Test century, but it means a lot more to me, today a lot of factors added up to the reason why it was so special: Australia (is the) best team in the world, it's in their own backyard, first Test of the series for me ... it was just a very special day," Oram said.
"The time I went to the wicket yesterday we were in a spot of bother, so to turn our ship around and play a leading hand in that was very special to me."
He dedicated the innings to his late grandfather, who died three months ago after losing a battle against cancer, and he showed plenty of emotion when he reached his ton.
"He would have loved to have been here," said Oram. "He's my grandfather and supported me in everything I did.
"He was probably my heaviest critic but at the same time I know he was very proud of what I had achieved.
"He died of cancer and I know he'd said to the doctors two years ago he wanted to be alive when I played my first Test and he managed to see that at the Basin Reserve (in Wellington).
"But he lost his battle a couple of months ago."
11/20/2004 - 10:31 GMT - AFP