Boyd Rankin

Boyd Rankin
Personal information
Full name
William Boyd Rankin
Born (1984-07-05) 5 July 1984 (age 40)
Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Height2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
RelationsDavid Rankin (brother)
International information
National sides
Test debut (cap 8/661)3 January 2014 
England v Australia
Last Test24 July 2019 
Ireland v England
ODI debut (cap 16/230)31 January 2007 
Ireland v Bermuda
Last ODI9 January 2020 
Ireland v West Indies
T20I debut (cap 14/64)8 June 2009 
Ireland v Bangladesh
Last T20I8 March 2020 
Ireland v Afghanistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2006–2007, 2019Derbyshire
2008–2018Warwickshire
2018–2021North West Warriors
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 3 75 50 108
Runs scored 43 100 64 704
Batting average 8.60 7.69 9.14 9.14
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/1
Top score 17 18* 16* 56*
Balls bowled 443 3,702 1,058 15,592
Wickets 8 106 55 352
Bowling average 38.00 27.87 22.16 26.46
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 9
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/5 4/15 3/16 6/55
Catches/stumpings 0/– 17/– 16/– 29/–
Source: ESPNCricInfo, 23 April 2020
Rankin's voice
recorded April 2015

William Boyd Rankin (born 5 July 1984) is a Northern Irish former cricketer who played international cricket for Ireland, and briefly also played for England. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler. He is the brother of fellow cricketer David Rankin.

Born in Derry, Rankin is a tall bowler who stands at 6 ft 8 inches and has a distinctive bouncing action in his bowling. Rankin revealed in an interview that his action is modelled on bowlers like Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath who "hit the deck from just back of a length outside off stump".[1] He studied agriculture at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire, during which time he worked on his batting technique.[2]

In August 2012, Rankin announced that he would cease playing for Ireland, with the hope of one day playing for the English team.[3] He debuted for England against New Zealand in a T20 match on 25 June 2013, and later played one Test for England during the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia.

With few prospects of a return to the England team, Rankin confirmed in December 2015 that he would commit to playing for Ireland in the upcoming 2016 ICC World Twenty20.[4][5][6] He has subsequently represented Ireland in both 20 and 50-over formats. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Ireland's first ever Test match, against Pakistan, in May 2018.

In December 2018, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season.[7][8] In January 2020, he was again awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland,[9] the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.[10]

On 21 May 2021, Rankin announced his retirement from international and inter-provincial cricket.[11]

  1. ^ Dileep Premachandran (12 April 2007). "In the skin of a lion". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
  2. ^ David Nash (2005). "Boyd Rankin player profile: MCCC". Middlesex County Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Rankin to quit playing for Ireland". Wisden India. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Rankin confirms return to Ireland ranks". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  5. ^ Hoult, Nick (3 November 2015). "Boyd Rankin to abandon hopes of England recall and rejoin his native Ireland". telegraph. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Boyd Rankin: Ireland return for pace bowler". BBC Sport. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  7. ^ "19 men's central player contracts finalised ahead of busy 2019". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Ireland women to receive first professional contracts". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Gareth Delany, Shane Getkate amongst 19 men's central player contracts offered ahead of a busy 2020". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Delany, Getkate highlight Ireland men's central contracts list for 2020". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Boyd Rankin retires from international and inter-provincial cricket". Cricket Ireland. Retrieved 21 May 2021.