The English adventure in Pakistan this winter did not end with Ben Stokes and his players celebrating a famous 3-0 Test clean sweep but rather last Monday, as Central Punjab beat Balochistan by 50 runs in Karachi to claim the domestic 50-over cup.
Central Punjab’s head coach is Nottinghamshire’s Paul Franks, with Bilal Shafayat, the county’s former batsman, his assistant. As the pair beamed at the success, three months of graft away from the spotlight and security bubble of England’s historic tour had been rewarded handsomely. “I can’t remember a dull day,” says Franks, back home and set for a return to pre-season at Trent Bridge on Monday, where he is assistant to Peter Moores. “Going into that final week with a chance of winning a competition, with all the hard work we had put in and having been away from family over Christmas, it made for a pretty special end to an amazing experience.
