Cricket: Selection snub sets Franklin off

Allrounder James Franklin says it is a coincidence his best bowling performance for Wellington came in the week he was snubbed by the national cricket selectors.

One of the casualties of Jeff Wilson's one-day call-up for New Zealand, Franklin scaled new heights in the State Championship match against Northern Districts in Wellington to collect his first 10-wicket match haul at first-class level.

His performance helped Wellington win the match at the Basin Reserve by eight wickets with more than four sessions to spare in a fixture scheduled to last four days.

Left-arm swing bowler Franklin took five for 48 from 16 overs in Northern Districts' second innings to give a match analysis of 10 for 71.

"I just try to do my thing for Wellington," he said. "The selectors pick who they want. I'm happy to keep on playing for Wellington and hopefully to string some performances together."

Franklin said comments made by others last week that he was being looked at more seriously by the national selectors in the longer form of the game had also had no bearing on him.

"Obviously I want to play both forms of the game at the highest level, but I didn't get any wickets in the first half of the State Shield [one-day competition], though I felt I bowled okay.

"It went really well over the last couple of days. The ball came out all right and the rhythm was reasonable, so the combination of those two factors helped pretty much.

"It was my day, I suppose, but I was lucky I had a gusty wind at my back and, to the other guys' credit, they had to battle into it."

Franklin's latest milestone continues a stellar period in his career.

He took a test hat-trick against Bangladesh in November and a few months earlier claimed career-best first-class figures of seven for 60 for English county Gloucestershire against Lancashire.

Franklin, 24, has now taken 189 first-class wickets. "I look at statistics a wee bit and 200 wickets is the next obvious goal. I'd also love to score a hundred on the Basin."

Franklin scored his maiden first-class hundred last summer against Otago in Dunedin at Carisbrook.

He set the match up for Wellington and as soon as Stephen Fleming got into his stride on Saturday afternoon the win was in safe keeping.

After dismissing Northern Districts for 195 in their second innings, Wellington raced to their target of 160 in 36.2 overs with Fleming blazing an unbeaten 80 off 66 balls.

Wellington coach Vaughn Johnson rated the win highly. "The way we bowled in both innings and then backed it second time with the bat tells me it was a pretty good performance.

"Jimmy [Franklin] was outstanding. He ran in hard and bowled with purpose. Part of his first spell on the first day was probably as good as I've ever seen him bowl."

- NZPA