This spring’s ICC Cricket World Cup has gained another Nottinghamshire representative, as second eleven captain Paul Franks has been appointed to the United Arab Emirates backroom staff for the duration of the tournament.
Franks spent time with the UAE during a training camp in November, and will rekindle his relationship with the side’s players and push them on to impress on the world stage.
“It took me a while to get my head around even being approached by the Emirates Cricket Board in the first place,” he said.
“That was flattering enough in itself, and this is a huge opportunity for me at a very early stage in my coaching development.
“I’ve still got a lot to learn but world cups don’t come around very often and it was something that didn’t take long to decide about, and I’m grateful for Mick Newell and the staff at Nottinghamshire for giving me the chance to go away, learn and apply myself and I’m hoping to bring that back to Trent Bridge this summer.”
The United Arab Emirates will be looking to impress in their second appearance at an ICC Cricket World Cup, along with fellow associate nations Ireland, Afghanistan and Scotland.
Drawn in Pool B, the UAE will face South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland and will hope to start strongly if they are to upset the odds and reach the super six stage.
We’ll come up against some players that I know a lot about, that I’ve played against before or seen a lot of,” said Franks.
“We can look to start strongly, playing against Zimbabwe, who are having a tough time at the moment and Ireland, one of the strongest associate nations, in our first two fixtures.
“Realistically if we play well in those two gams there’s no reason why we can’t look to compete and do well in our other games against the bigger boys.”
Franks has taken on a number of coaching responsibilities with Nottinghamshire, working with bowlers during the season as well as with the second eleven and academy sides. Keen to push himself as well as the players, Franks is looking to widen his coaching experience and instill the same work ethic in the UAE as he has with his young Nottinghamshire charges.
“I have to learn as much as I can, while implementing ideas and knowledge that I’ve gained from my time in the game, even little things about playing in different conditions and against challenging opposition,” he said.
“The chance for the players to showcase their skills on a world stage is something very special for me.
“I’m trying to help them be as organised and professional as possible. That’s one of the things I pride myself on, making sure people know what’s expected, the game plans are watertight and we can implement them on the pitch.
That’s no different to how I’ve worked here over the past couple of years with Nottinghamshire’s younger players.
“Its a big challenge, no one is expecting us to go there and tear the world cup up, we have to be realistic about what we can see and expect. But we set high expectations for ourselves and we’ll look to exceed them and really compete.”