Franklin named as Lead High Performance Coach

Durham County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the appointment of James Franklin as our new Lead High Performance Coach.

The former New Zealand all-rounder has joined the club on a two-year contract and will arrive at Emirates Riverside next month, in time for the club’s pre-season preparations and tour.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the coaching programme at Durham Cricket and I cannot wait to join up with the playing squad and the rest of the support staff.”

“There is no doubt that it has been a challenging couple of years for Durham but now it is about moving forward, making progress both on and off the field and once again striving to make Durham one of the powers of the English Domestic Competition.”

“Having been in discussions with Tim and Marcus recently, it is very apparent what their ambitions for the club are and how excited they are with what the future might hold for Durham with the young, dynamic playing group we have here.”

“I really hope we can make all our loyal, passionate supporters proud of us as a club as we work incredibly hard to achieve our goals for 2019 and beyond.”

Franklin – who played 31 Test Matches and 110 ODI’s for New Zealand and is currently a coaching consultant at Brisbane Heat in the BBL – will be joined by Durham stalwarts Neil Killeen and Alan Walker who have also penned new deals with DCCC.

Killeen has accepted the position of Assistant Lead & Bowling High Performance Coach and Walker will take up the role of High Performance Assistant Coach with a focus on second team cricket.

Both will work alongside Franklin and will be joined by a high-performance batting consultant in the near future, completing the club’s new coaching structure.

Durham County Cricket Club, Director of Cricket, Marcus North said: “Following an extensive recruitment process it became clear that James was by far the best fit for Durham. I am extremely excited for James’s arrival and look forward to working with him during this new chapter for Durham Cricket.”

Durham County Cricket Club, Chief Executive, Tim Bostock said: “We’re delighted that James has joined the club and I firmly believe he has the skills and cricket experience to drive this club forward.”

“The new coaching structure, which includes Neil [Killeen] and Alan [Walker] will give the club clearer direction and we’re delighted with the work we have done during the winter.”

Franklin is one of only two New Zealanders to ever take a hat-trick in Test Cricket and he captained Middlesex to the County Championship title in 2016.