The theory is Franklin, who has opened regularly and with considerable success at English county level in T20, will be better able to play the spin coming back into his pads. As a left-hander he also breaks up the right-right combination of Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill.
Coach Mike Hesson and captain Ross Taylor are effectively looking to create a Franklin-stein Monster for opposition teams.
Ideally he will be able to hit straight over the top or through the field in the first six overs with just two fielders allowed outside the 30m circle. Franklin's technique appeals; he tends to play in the 'V' between mid-wicket and cover more than most.
Less cross-bat shots should lead to less wickets in the early stages of the innings, although Franklin can take a while to get into his work. However, in his one T20 international opening performance, Franklin hit 60 off 37 balls against Zimbabwe earlier this year. He made 12 off 11 balls against South Africa in the World T20 warm-up, while Nicol hit 37 from 36 in the middle order.
The move presents Franklin with the perfect opportunity to translate his county and Indian Premier League form to the biggest stage. He has often threatened with the bat and on occasion with the ball for New Zealand during brief periods in what is now an 11-year international career across all formats. His tight death bowling spell helped defeat India recently.
Meanwhile, Nicol is understood to be over the worst of his stomach bug, as are fellow affected players Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori.
Nicol remains useful to the team as a spin bowling all-rounder but might be better suited down the order, given he has scored just 108 runs opening in his last six T20 international outings at a strike rate of 107 and average of 18.
Andrew Alderson flew to the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka courtesy of Emirates airline.
