BLACKCAP James Franklin has helped his Essex side to sneak into the quarter-finals of the English County Cricket competition.
Franklin was rested by New Zealand selectors for the West Indies series, giving him the opportunity to play regular Twenty20 cricket in the English league ahead of the World Cup in September this year.
Franklin has been a solid performer for Essex, having scored 244 runs at an average of 30.50. He has a strike-rate is 112 and top score of 78.
He’s also been used as a part time bowler and has an economy rate of 8.37, picking up three wickets.
His side snuck into the top eight after the final round robin match was rained off, giving them an all important point.
Sadly Wellington team mate Jeetan Patel wasn’t so lucky, just missing out on making it to the next stage of the competition.
Franklin will see out the English Twenty20 league before joining with the rest of the BLACKCAPS squad ahead of their two matches against India just prior the World Cup.
