24 Sep 2009

Oram and Butler ruled out of Champions Trophy opener

6:02 pm on 24 September 2009

The New Zealand cricketers will go into tonight's opening ICC Champions Trophy match against South Africa without allrounder Jacob Oram and pace bowler Ian Butler.

The Black Caps coach Andy Moles says Oram damaged his hamstring in training and will under go a scan while Butler has a stomach bug and has been unable to train.

Moles says they hope Oram's injury is just a very minor tear but they won't know for two days so he is out of the game.

He says while Butler isn't fit enough or strong enough to bowl 10 overs he'll be back for the next game.