‘Anything is possible’: New UAE cricket coach Paul Franks does not have his eyes on the clock

Englishman has focus on UAE’s trip to Scotland next month and will think about tomorrow later, writes Paul Radley.

UAE cricket coach Paul Franks, right, having some fun during a final training session ahead of the team's Pool B 2015 Cricket World Cup match against India, in Perth on February 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOODShow less

Paul Franks says it is possible his time as head coach of UAE could extend beyond the initial six-week spell he has signed up for.

But the Englishman, who has been released “on loan” from his county side Nottinghamshire, says his sole focus is preparing the national team to succeed against Scotland next month.

Franks had two short-term stints as assistant to Aaqib Javed, who ended four years as UAE coach at the end of May.

His current employers in the UK encouraged his application to succeed Aaqib.

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His own boss at Nottinghamshire, Mick Newell, even provided a reference for his application for the UAE post.

Franks returned to Dubai on Friday, after being given permission to rejoin UAE on an “interim” basis, despite it being the middle of the county season, and he says he is grateful for the opportunity.

“I am thinking that anything is possible,” Franks said about his prospects of extending his stay in the UAE past this summer’s duties.

“I have been very lucky to be supported, through all my ventures with the UAE national team, by Nottinghamshire.

“I have to be very respectful of the fact they are my full-time employers who have given me leave, because they understand my ambition and that it could be an important part of my growth moving forward.

“What comes on August 18, we will have to wait and see, but I am very much focused on the next six weeks, and maximising what we have in front of us in that period, to give ourselves the best chance of playing well in Scotland.”

If the national team are to continue the rate of progress they made in the first three years of Aaqib’s tenure, the next coach realistically needs to make a long-term commitment.

Aaqib’s spell in charge was notable for two things. Firstly, the four years he was here was far longer than any of his predecessors.

Secondly, the team enjoyed unprecedented success in that time.

Like Aaqib did when he relocated from Pakistan in 2012, Franks has a young family to consider.

Whether he can fully sever ties with the county he has served for the best part of two decades – first as player, now as part of the coaching staff – might depend much on what happens over the next six weeks.

The national team are rooted to the bottom of both the Intercontinental Cup and the World Cricket League, ahead of their trip to Scotland.

However, Franks is bullish about his side’s chances of arresting their alarming form, citing the excellence shown in the Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh last time out as a reason for optimism. “I am ambitious for this team in the short term,” said Franks, who was part of the coaching staff when the side played the likes of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at Dhaka in March.

“I have seen what they are capable of, the good and the bad.

“We have to acknowledge there have been times over the past 18 months when it hasn’t been good enough, certainly since the end of the World Cup.

“The Asia Cup re-inspired me, on a level where I thought that five or six of these guys look like serious cricketers now.

“They have really embraced the knowledge they took from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and enhanced themselves as cricketers and people.”

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