Paul Franks joins UAE as assistant coach

Former England fast bowler Paul Franks has been named UAE's assistant coach on loan from Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, ahead of the World Cup. Franks, who played one ODI for England against West Indies in 2000, will support the head coach Aaqib Javed, and mainly take responsibility for the team's fielding preparations.

"It took me a while to get my head around being approached by the Emirates Cricket Board, that was flattering enough in itself, and this is a huge opportunity for me at a very early stage in my coaching development," Franks, who is part of the England and Wales Cricket Board's Level 4 - Elite Coach Development Programme, said.

"I've still got a lot to learn and World Cups don't come around very often, it was a decision that didn't take long. I'm grateful to Mick Newell and the staff at Nottinghamshire for giving me the chance to go away, learn, apply myself, and I'm hoping to bring that, and more, back to Trent Bridge this summer."

Franks, 35, played 215 first-class matches in a career spanning 17 years, scoring 7185 runs and taking 524 wickets. In his first full season with Nottinghamshire, in 1997, Franks took the county's first hat-trick for a decade, and the following February he helped England clinch the Under-19 World Cup in Johannesburg. Overall, in 89 matches for Nottinghamshire, Franks hit 3269 runs and collected 168 wickets.

"Paul was a natural, easy choice," Javed said. "He made a strong, positive impact during the team's three-week training camp, the players know him, and he knows their strengths as well as the areas they need to work on. We're looking forward to having Paul on board."

UAE will leave for the World Cup next week and play warm-up matches against Australia and Afghanistan in Melbourne. They will contest their first game of the tournament on February 19, against Zimbabwe in Nelson.