Franklin weighs options but Wellington win out

The pain of missing a New Zealand contract still bites James Franklin but he insists his return to Wellington was a no-brainer.

After more than a week of deliberation, Franklin drew sighs of relief from Cricket Wellington headquarters when he telephoned chief executive Gavin Larsen from England with the good news yesterday.

"I received some flattering offers from elsewhere but I decided to stay with Wellington because that's where my heart is still," Franklin told The Dominion Post last night.

"I love playing at the Basin Reserve, on a good wicket and with the Wellington guys. I was disappointed with last season and I want to turn things around as a player."

Franklin, 29, wouldn't elaborate on the offers, but it seems other provinces were keen for his services, along with former national coach John Bracewell's Gloucestershire who wanted to secure him as a local player via his Irish passport.

He could have followed his former New Zealand team-mate Hamish Marshall and secured his future in Bristol as a local.

But he talked things through with Bracewell, and his own manager, Stephen Fleming, whom he remained in daily contact with.

"I had some time to think. It's not about the money or anything like that. It's about going home, home being the crucial word, and playing cricket."

Franklin was shattered when he slipped off the list of 20 New Zealand contracted players last week, along with another unlucky Gloucestershire player, Ian Butler.

He didn't seize his chance in the ODI series against Australia in March, and it left Franklin's international future up in the air after a career spanning 26 tests, 75 ODIs and 13 T20s over the past decade.

"Naturally I was disappointed. I was still holding out hope of retaining my contract even though I missed the World T20 team and the side to Sri Lanka.

"I've just got to get on and play for Wellington, hopefully do well, and just see where that leads."

But he wasn't holding his breath about forcing his way back into the black strip, even with the big prize of the World Cup in the subcontinent in February and March.

"Missing out on the 20 contracted players, it's going to be hard to get into that World Cup side. I'll just worry about playing for Wellington for now."

Ironically, Franklin has been flying in county cricket, displaying some of the batting form of his life.

Heading into their overnight 40-over match against Yorkshire, he was topping the county's batting averages in all three formats.

In first-class matches he'd scored 576 runs at 36, in the 40-over format 161 at 40.25 and in T20 an impressive 470 at 39.16 and strike rate of 130.

"The last couple of years have certainly been my best in terms of batting and I'm hopeful it will only keep improving."

He still sees himself as a genuine all-rounder and while his limited overs form wasn't flattering, he'd taken 23 first-class wickets at 26.95.

Larsen was thrilled to secure Franklin, who arrives home in mid-September.

"James has a point to prove to the New Zealand selectors and my hope is that he delivers big time for us on the park and forces his name into World Cup calculations."

- © Fairfax NZ News