Date of birth – 3 February 1979 Mansfield, Notts

Nottinghamshire First Class Debut – 19 Sep 1996 v Hampshire (a)

Despite still being only 34 Paul Franks spent much of last season hitting back at those ready to call time on his career.

Mick Newell’s willingness to rotate his bowling attack occasionally meant that one of the club’s most loyal servants was left on the sidelines.

Nevertheless, Paul bounced back each and every time and was undefeated on 86 when Notts declared their innings closed during a thrilling match against Warwickshire on the final day of the season.

In many ways it was cruel that there wasn’t enough time for him to collect his fifth career century. Typically, there were no signs of disappointment, merely an in-your-face bowling performance that brought him season-best figures of 4-47 as Notts gave it their all to try and win the match.

Perhaps Paul’s most outstanding achievement for Notts came in 1997, his first full season, when he took the county’s first hat-trick for a decade.

The following February he became a World Cup winner, helping the England Under-19 side defeat their New Zealand counterparts in the final in Johannesburg.

Paul appeared to be set for a lengthy international career when he represented his country in an ODI against the West Indies on his home Trent Bridge ground in 2000 but, sadly, a period out of the game with a troublesome knee injury then disrupted his progress.

‘The General’, as he is known, has become an integral part of the Nottinghamshire squad ever since with his lively medium-pacers and reliable left-handed batting and has now amassed more than 6,000 first class runs and 500 wickets.

A never-say-die competitor, Paul was a member of the county’s title-winning side in both 2005 and 2010 and will no doubt be as fiercely competitive as ever in 2013.