Ireland pacer Boyd Rankin announces his retirement from international cricket

Ireland pacer Boyd Rankin announced his retirement from international cricket on Friday (May 21). The 36-year-old will go down as one of the finest fast bowlers to have played for Ireland, and his record across formats is also impressive. Rankin possessed the ability to swing the ball both ways and that too with a good pace. Moreover, his 6 ft. 7 in height helped him getting extra bounce off the surface.

Born on July 5, 1984, in County Londonderry, Rankin belonged to a cricket-loving family as his brothers Robert and David have represented Ireland in Under-19 cricket. However, Boyd was the only one from the family to have played at the highest level. The right-arm pacer fine-tuned himself into a ‘hit the deck bowler’ and his ability to get lateral movement off the track made him an even greater asset.

Rankin made his international debut in January 2007 and didn’t take long in making a mark. He bagged a lot of limelight with this spectacular show in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands. The young pacer took 12 wickets in the tournament, including a match-winning three-wicket haul against Pakistan. As a result, Ireland shocked the cricket world and advanced to the super eight stage.

Boyd Rankin one of the three cricketers to play Test cricket for two nations

The pacer didn’t look back since then and bowled one spectacular spells after another. In 2012, however, he quitted Irish cricket to ply his trade for the England team. He went onto play for the Three Lions across formats and even featured in an Ashes match. In fact, Boyd is only the third international cricketer after Kepler Wessels and John Tracois to play Test cricket for two nations.

However, lack of opportunities meant Rankin returned to Ireland in 2015 and was serving his national side since then. He retires from international cricket with 170 wickets across formats. While announcing his retirement, Rankin said the decision was hard, but the right time is to step aside.

“To retire from international cricket is always a tough call, but I feel now is the right time to step away. I have put my heart and soul into playing cricket professionally since 2003 and have loved every minute of it,” Rankin said in a statement.

“Thank you for the support from everyone involved in Irish cricket – the support has been amazing over the years and to see all the supporters in the stands cheering the boys in green on during games all around the world has been our 12th Man! I hope cricket in Ireland continues to grow,” he added.