Name: James Franklin
Playing Style: All-rounder
Nickname: Tank
Secondary School Attended: Wellington College
Club: Wellington Collegians Cricket Club
Earliest Cricket Memory: Anderson Park Nets
Favourite Ground to play: Lords
Most memorable cricket moment: ODI Series win in South Africa
Favourite player growing up: Wasim Akram
The non-cricketing sports person or team I most admire: Liverpool FC
If I wasn’t a Firebird I’d be: Alive! Somewhere!
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite holiday destination: South Africa
In my spare time I like to: Read
My signature dish is: Roast Pork Loin
My favourite song is: Any Mumford & Sons song
My favourite movie is: Currently – Django Unchained
My favourite food is: Japanese
Chores as kid: Sweeping leaves, Making bed etc
Favourite school subject: History
Worst school subject: Science
Do you have any pets? No
If I could have anything, I would want: A Tiger
The biggest influence on my cricketing career is: My father
Something you didn’t know about me is: I can wiggle my ears!
Wellington Firebirds debut:
v India 1998-99 (first-class tour match)
Best bat: 219 v Auckland Aces 2008-09 (first-class)
Best bowl: 7 for 30 v Central Stags 2005-06 (first-class)
In 2012-13 James Franklin is playing his 15th season as a domestic and international cricketer since making his first-class debut for Wellington aged 18.
Franklin was appointed Hell Wellington Firebirds captain in 2012-13, although international duties for New Zealand kept him mostly away from domestic cricket for the first half of the season at least.
In October 2011 he led the Mumbai Indians to the Champions League Twenty20 title, scoring 42 off 29 balls in the final against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
At the start of 2012-13, Franklin was closing in on 150 first-class matches, including 30 Tests.
A true all-rounder, Franklin has a first class 10-wicket haul as well as a Test hat-trick and a Test century to his name. He returned to action three seasons ago, after a full year out of international cricket having undergone knee surgery.
As well as for the Mumbai Indians, Franklin has played English county cricket for Gloustershire in recent years. In 2010 he scored 862 runs at 33.15 and took 46 wickets at 23.54, including a career best 7 for 14. Batting at the top of the order in limited overs cricket he scored almost 1000 runs in the 40-over and Twenty20 competitions.