‘Too good to turn down’: Franks bucks the trend with Central Punjab switch

Pakistan appears the place to be this winter but away from the bright lights and packed stadiums of England’s security-heavy tour, two aspirational coaches from the county system are about to embark on an intriguing assignment of their own.

Paul Franks, assistant to Peter Moores at Nottinghamshire after two decades as the club’s uncompromising all-rounder, has been appointed head coach of Central Punjab for Pakistan’s domestic season, with the 43-year-old overseeing their campaigns in the four-day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the 50-over Pakistan Cup.

Joining Franks as his No 2 will be Bilal Shafayat, 38, who since his own playing career has coached the Notts’ age-group levels and second XI. Their four-month deal goes against the tide of seeking winter work on the Twenty20 circuit and at a time when the national set-up keeps looking to overseas coaches, it shows impressive ambition.

“This was too good to turn down,” Franks tells the Guardian. “It came about through a little bit of word of mouth and possibly Trent Rockets winning the Hundred when I was assistant to Andy Flower. He and Peter [Moores] are two incredible coaches who have trusted me to do my job as I see it and that’s probably helped.

“I’ve worked in the T10 league in Abu Dhabi and the temptation would be to find more gigs in franchise cricket. But I wanted to get out of my comfort zone a little, really experience a different culture and hopefully grow as a coach.

“Four-day and 50-over cricket may not be as fashionable right now but I want to work across all formats. And I’ve got ambitions to go as far as I can in my career. I want to help this team be the best they can be but also learn from the players too.”

Franks describes the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy that starts