A fast bowler who has played international cricket for both England and Ireland, Boyd Rankin has joined Derbyshire for the remainder of the Vitality Blast campaign.
The paceman won the competition in 2014, and will be a familiar face to Derbyshire supporters, having played for the county in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
After departing The Pattonair County Ground, the 6’8” bowler spent a decade with Warwickshire, during which he became a first-team regular at Edgbaston.
Rankin took 14 wickets at an average of 20.00 en-route to the trophy in 2014, including 2-21 in the final as the Bears beat Lancashire by four runs.
Throughout his career, Rankin has appeared in 77 T20 matches and has claimed 89 wickets, with 39 of them coming in 36 international matches.
Rankin played two Vitality Blast matches for the Birmingham Bears in 2018, claiming three wickets with best figures of 2-56, while he also took two catches in the competition.
He was Ireland’s leading wicket-taker in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he claimed 12 wickets across nine games in the Caribbean at an average of 27.00.
Rankin had already played in 15 T20s and 37 One-Day Internationals for Ireland when he made the decision to play for England in 2013. He made his T20 debut for the nation against New Zealand in 2013, while his ODI bow came against his former national side in September of the same year and took 4-46.
In two years, Rankin appeared in seven ODIs for England, claiming 10 wickets, while his two T20s appearances garnered a single dismissal. The bowler also featured in a solitary Test match for the nation, after being named in the fifth Test of the 2014 Ashes series in Sydney, taking one wicket.
After declaring himself available for Ireland selection in 2015, Rankin returned to the side in February 2016 in a T20 against U.A.E, claiming 2-16 in a 34-run victory.
Rankin made history in May 2018, when he was named in the Ireland squad for their first-ever Test match against Pakistan at Malahide. He claimed three wickets in the match but could not prevent defeat for the hosts.
A regular in county cricket, Rankin experienced a Lord’s final in 2014, when Warwickshire met Durham in the Royal London One-Day Cup, having taken 1-35 against Kent in the semi-final. An inspired performance from Ben Stokes led Durham to the trophy, despite 4-25 from Jeetan Patel.
Welcome to Derbyshire, Boyd.
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire host a hat-trick of Twenty20 matches at The Pattonair County Ground in August. Buy in advance to save. Call 01332 388 101 or buy online.
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