Ireland’s Boyd Rankin ready to add to impressive record

Boyd Rankin is hoping he can add further to an impressive CV with Ireland on Friday when he plays against Afghanistan in his third Test match.
Ireland's Boyd RankinIreland's Boyd Rankin
Ireland's Boyd Rankin

The lofty pace bowler who debuted for Ireland in 2003 at the age of 19, has had a busy six weeks having played in every match on the current tour.

In spite of this, he is feeling good and ready for what, if selected, will be his third Test match appearance in his 16th year in international cricket.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Speaking from the team hotel in Dehradun, he said: “It’s been a long tour so far and it’s been pretty hectic since arriving in India.

“I’ve been involved in all the games, but the body feels pretty good at the moment.

“Saying that, the Test will be tough work for everyone, especially not playing any longer format cricket going into the match.

“As an experience, it’s going to be hard to beat the feeling around Ireland’s first Test last year, but it’s always very special to play a Test match for your country and it will always have a buzz about it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Once we take the field it will be down to business of trying to win a game of cricket.”

Being an integral part of the Irish bowling unit on the tour, he said: “I feel the bowlers did a pretty good job during the one-day series.

“Maybe we could have capitalised on good starts with the ball, but that’s one day cricket - there is time to rebuild the innings and they were allowed to play well at times.

“It will be another key battle in the Test match - our bowlers versus their batters - and if we bowl well it will give us a great chance to win the Test.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I don’t really expect too much difference with the red ball opposed to the white. It might swing early, but the ball will get soft quickly. So it will be hard for the seamers as Test progresses, but we are hoping there might be some reverse swing later in the innings with the wickets being pretty abrasive.”

Asked about the last couple of days, since the end of the ODI series, he said:

“We have netted on the main square most of the time which has been good as its very similar to the wickets we have been playing on.

“The lads have all been training really hard and looking forward to the challenge of Test cricket.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“A few of us travelled into Dehradun to have a look around and have some lunch at another hotel which was nice to break up the routine of training/playing and spending a lot of time in our hotel. There isn’t much else to do here, but it’s been nice to have a games room here with pool and table tennis to kill some time. We have been very well looked after by the hotel staff here which has been great.”

Rankin has played 11 times (across T20Is and ODIs) on the current tour of Oman and India, claiming 16 wickets. If selected, this will be his 129th appearance for the men in green – a career that has seen him take more than 190 international wickets for Ireland – currently the 9th highest international wicket-taker for his country.