Rishton switch to Franklin by Nigel Stockley - March 22nd

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Player:

JEC Franklin

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Rishton have agreed terms with New Zealand all rounder James Franklin as a replacement for South African Deon Kruis who has run into problems with the ECB.

 

There are doubts about the availability of Kruis due to an alleged incident that occurred last season whilst he was playing for Blackpool in the Northern Premier League so Rishton have been left with no alternative than to look elsewhere.

 

The 23 year-old Franklin would appear to be a more than useful replacement with a career total of 1388 First-class runs at 26.2 and 128 wickets at 24.6. The left handed early order batsman and left arm opening bowler has played in two Test matches and 24 One Day Internationals. In the shorter version of the game, Franklin has hit 116 runs and taken 20 wickets at 45.3. He also played in three Tests for New Zealand Under 19s with a highest score of 127.

 

The New Zealander will come under an Irish passport. For Wellington in the current domestic season in New Zealand, Franklin has been in great form, scoring 379 runs at 34.4, including a career best unbeaten 108, and he has also taken 36 wickets at 21.4. In his last First-class match to date he took 3-32 and 4-75 with the ball and he hit 62 and 4 against Canterbury in the drawn State Championship Final.