Head coach James Franklin to leave Durham at end of season

Franklin, who joined Durham in 2019 and led the club to the Royal London Cup final in 2021, is leaving to "explore other opportunities"

Durham head coach James Franklin will leave the club at the end of the 2022 season.  

The former New Zealand international replaced Jon Lewis ahead of the 2019 season, inheriting a side languishing near the foot of Division Two after being relegated and placed under a salary cap by the ECB in 2016 for entering financial difficulty.

Under his leadership, the club finished fifth in 2019, bottom of the North Group in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy, and third in Division Two (of three) in 2021.

Durham also reached the final of the 2021 Royal London Cup, losing to Glamorgan by 58 runs, and have seen three players – Alex Lees, Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse - earn England debuts.

^{Franklin with his team during his first season in charge [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

The 2022 season, however, has been a disappointing one for Durham, with the promotion favourites lying sixth in Division Two – 40 points outside the top-two and with just one win in 10 matches. In white-ball cricket, they failed to progress beyond the group stages of the T20 Blast for the fourth season in a row and finished bottom of Group A in the Royal London Cup.

"I have enjoyed my time at Durham. It has been a privilege to work with my fellow support staff and a great group of players," Franklin said.

"The progression of pathway players into the first team and first team players onto the international stage has been pleasing. The Royal London Cup campaign in 2021 was a particular highlight. The time is now right for me to explore other opportunities to develop my coaching career."

Director of cricket, Marcus North, added: "We would like to thank James for all of his efforts over the past four years. He has been completely dedicated to the club since his first day in post and shown unwavering commitment to develop the squad.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with James and we wish him every success in his future pursuits."