Nottinghamshire Assistant Head Coach Paul Franks has guided his Central Punjab side to a third placed finish in Pakistan’s domestic First-Class competition, the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. 

He concludes his red-ball spell in charge unbeaten, having totted up 10 draws across his games in charge, finishing four points behind Sindh who will compete against Northern in the final of the tournament. 

Victories proved hard to come by in the league, with only nine wins across the 30 games played, but his time in the sub-continent has given Franks opportunities to learn, not least stewing over inventive methods to claim scalps, but also embedding himself in a different culture, and parachuting into a new dressing room. 

It has been a transition which, he says, has been made easier by the warmth of welcome afforded to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board and those within, and outside of, the Central Punjab camp. 

“The PCB have been brilliant,” Franks said, “the hospitality has been great and I have been made to feel so welcome. 

“As a group, we’ve gone on a journey. The environment is challenging, and the bowlers have to come up with some clever ideas but, having said that, we’ve managed to get a lot of bonus points which is always a positive.

“Clearly, we would love to have won more games, but the results have not necessarily been a reflection of how the team has set up, or how the coaches have worked, it has just been difficult to force a result.

“On a personal note, I feel valued, and likewise I’ve tried to be very respectful of what they were doing before, because they were doing a lot really well. I have just tried to add little bits here and there to make players the best they can be.”

Central Punjab had completed their domestic T20 season prior to Franks’ arrival in September, finishing third, but the former Notts all-rounder has the 50-over competition to come in December. 

Dropping into an established squad posed a challenge to Franks. Namely, how to employ his desired style of cricket with a group who have been together for some time. 

His approach centered around embellishing the talent, and getting the most out of a squad rich and varied in personnel.

“The players have been very receptive to my arrival, to their credit,” he said. 

“From my point of view, I have really enjoyed it. It has been a real test, but we’ve learned a great deal even about how we manage players and how we look after them.

“You try to learn from them, definitely. You have always got to work to the sum of your parts, ask what you can make of your squad, and how can you put them in the best position to perform - that’s the question asked of cricket teams all over the world. 

“I’d like to think that we have offered something new as staff that they can take away in red-ball cricket.”

The depth of the squad means Franks will return to the drawing board ahead of the 50-over competition, working out how to fuse the talent at his disposal to create the best results. 

It is a challenge he is already looking forward to, with the prospect of more work on his return to Nottinghamshire in the new year looming large, having watched on from afar as his side lifted the LV=Insurance County Championship Division Two trophy. 

“We’ve got so many players to choose from, a big cross section of different types of styles, and the planning does have to start now to get the most out of the group for the 50-over stuff,” he said. 

“I’m excited for that - it asks different questions of us as coaches, and provides more opportunities for us and the playing group to develop and learn.

“On a Notts note, it is great to see the boys play as well as they did over the course of the season, and it was brilliant to have got over the line in terms of promotion.

“The attention has already turned to next year -  the message that I have received. I have been in contact with Pete and all the coaching staff. I’ll be looking forward to getting back in amongst it when that time comes.”

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Trent Bridge will host three international matches in 2023, with the sole Test Match of the Women’s Ashes taking place at Nottinghamshire’s historic home, before England’s men face New Zealand and Ireland in IT20 and ODI contests respectively. 

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