The Hundred: Birmingham Phoenix appoint James Franklin as assistant coach

London [UK], June 22 (ANI): Former New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin has been appointed as the assistant coach of the Birmingham Phoenix men's team in The Hundred.
According to The Hundred, Andrew McDonald will not travel over to England this summer due to the ongoing global issues caused by the pandemic.
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will step up to the role of men's interim head coach this summer while McDonald will support the side as a consultant before returning as men's head coach in 2022.
"It was a really hard decision not to travel over this summer and I'm extremely sad that I won't be there in person to coach the team. I'll be doing everything I can to give advice and support to Daniel and his team and I'm already looking forward to playing a role in person next season," said Mcdonald in a statement.
Vettori will be supported by two assistant coaches -- Alex Gidman and Franklin -- who have extensive experience in England, both on and off the field, and are currently head coaches at Worcestershire and Durham respectively.
"I feel really honoured to be asked to step up and take the reins from Andrew this year. We'll continue to communicate regularly and Andrew's advice will be vital to our success. Our squad looks really strong and we want to build a winning team and hopefully bring The Hundred trophy to Birmingham," said Vettori.
Five Indian women cricketers -- Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma -- will be seen in action in the inaugural edition of 'The Hundred'.
Shafali Verma is the number one ranked short-form batter and she has joined Birmingham Phoenix women's side as a replacement for Sophie Devine. (ANI)