James Franklin

In a country where patience runs low, especially when it comes to fast bowlers, it is no surprise that despite toiling for over a decade, James Franklin still continues to remain a fringe player in the New Zealand set up.

Franklin debuted for Wellington in the 1998-99 season before a hurried call-up to the ODI side in 2001 when an injury crisis robbed the Black Caps of several of their key pace men. He had an average debut in the shorter format with two wickets in his five overs against Zimbabwe and just months later he made a forgettable Test debut against Pakistan. Not impressed by his abilities in the longer format, selectors continued playing him in ODIs, but following a poor 2002 Sharjah Cup in which he failed to pick even a single wicket, he was sacked, only to return in 2004 as a replacement for the injured Shane Bond.

During this period, the speedster worked both on his batting and his swing bowling and the efforts were visible. His fine returns for both club Glamorgan and country - including a Test ton against the South Africans - earned him a place in New Zealand’s 2007 World Cup side. Over the past few years, Franklin has been in and out of the side with the axe always seeming to following him like a shadow. However, failures haven’t deterred this left-arm seamer who continues to come up with performances which keep him in the loop of New Zealand cricket. He was roped in by the Mumbai Indians for the third IPL edition in 2010, after he displayed flashes of his talent on New Zealand’s tour of India earlier that year.