James Franklin: New Zealand’s sparkling all-rounder
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 all-rounder James Franklin is considered to be one of the finest players in the modern era of cricket. His vision was to become a fast bowler, but soon he began to concentrate on his batting allowing him to mature in both departments of the game.
New Zealand will look to Franklin to take wickets and make runs, during their exciting campaign at the ICC World Cup 2011.
Franklin started playing first class cricket in 1998 from his home county http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wellington-c864, but was rushed into international cricket in 2000-01 to represent the Black Caps in the One Day Internationals due to injuries suffered by the senior players. His performance
was not convincing in the initial period and he was frequently in-and-out of the team.
Franklin made his debut in the One Day International matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 on 2
January, 2001. Zimbabwe won that match by 70 runs, but Franklin was impressive with his all round performance as he took 2 wickets for 28 runs in 5 overs and scored an unbeaten 25 runs out of the total of 210 runs. He secured 14 wickets in 2001 after
playing 14 ODI matches, 6 in 10 matches in 2002, 9 in 6 matches in 2003, and 3 in 5 events in 2004. Franklin’s average in batting also revolved around 10 runs in the first four years before it had an upward trend in 2006. His focus on batting has allowed him
to become even more important to the Black Caps, as he now has the ability to play at any number on the line-up.
He has played 84 ODI matches and claimed 72 wickets at an average of 39.44, with a best of 5 for 42 runs. He has scored 909 runs at an average of 24.56, with a best of an unbeaten 98 runs with 3 fifties. Franklin’s magnificent ODI career has helped New Zealand
win many crucial matches.
Franklin made his debut in Test cricket against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391, 2001 and has played 27 Test matches. He has taken 80 wickets at an average of 33.10 with the best of 6 for 119 runs in an innings and 7 for 117 in a match. Franklin has scored
683 runs at an average of 21.34 runs, with a best of an unbeaten 122 runs with a hundred and 2 fifties.
He is the second Kiwi player to achieve a hat-trick in a Test playing against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in 2004. Peter Pethrick was the other bowler who achieved that distinction. Franklin has shared the highest eighth wicket partnership record of 256 runs with Stephen
Fleming for the Kiwis. He has the honour to make a record in the World Cup by taking a wicket on the first legitimate ball of his first over in the 2007 World Cup.
The Kiwi started his T20 journey against The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in 2006. He has played 16 matches, taken 9 wickets at an average of 24.11 runs with the best of 3 for 23 runs. He has scored 190 runs at an average of 19.00 with a best of 43 runs. Franklin’s T20 career
has proven the importance of an all-rounder in the shorter format of the game. His steady temperament is vital to maintain the innings in the quick game.
Franklin will play an important role for the Black Caps in the ongoing 2011 World Cup. His tremendous talent with both ball and bat can provide a key component for the team, as they compete against the best teams in the world. It will be exciting to see
how Franklin manages to put in his best performance and help the Kiwi’s bring the coveted trophy home.
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