Known as The General, Assistant Head Coach Paul Franks is a one-club man who has enjoyed a three-decade association with Nottinghamshire.

Born in Mansfield, Franks spent a long and illustrious playing career exclusively with his home county between 1996 and 2013, having developed his game at Farnsfield CC.

Having debuted as a 17-year-old, he went on to amass almost 9,000 runs and 679 wickets in all formats, showing early promise by claiming Nottinghamshire’s first hat-trick for a decade in 1997, still aged only 18.

He became a World Cup winner in February 1998 by skippering the England Under-19s to glory in South Africa, though a knee injury derailed his hopes of a lengthy career at full international level.

He ultimately only played one game for the Three Lions, an ODI against West Indies on his home ground in 2000, but England’s loss was Nottinghamshire’s gain as Franks went on to lift the County Championship in 2005 and 2010.

Upon retirement, he took charge of the Second XI for four summers and broadened his horizons as part of the United Arab Emirates staff at the 2015 World Cup, before making the step up to join the Notts first-team staff ahead of the 2017 summer.

That brought immediate success, with his first season working with the Notts first-team squad, alongside Peter Moores, culminated in two white-ball trophies and a promotion back to Division One.

He further honed his coaching skills in the years that followed, working with Trent Rockets Men’s staff in The Hundred, Central Punjab in Pakistan’s domestic structure, and Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Now as beloved as a coach as he was as a player, Franks joined an exclusive club in 2025 by achieving the feat of winning the County Championship in both roles.