Boyd Rankin achieves a unique distinction following Ireland's test debut

As Ireland create history today, stepping into the field for their first ever Test match, Boyd Rankin achieved a special feat. The tall pacer became the first-ever player in the history of the game to have played all three formats for two different countries, i.e. England and Ireland.

The 33-year-old who was born in Northern Ireland became noticeable during his stint in the World Cup 2007. He took 12 wickets in the tournament as Ireland went on to defeat Pakistan as well as Bangladesh. He was also the part of the Irish side that defeated England in the 2011 World Cup.

It was in 2012 that he made himself unavailable for Ireland in a bid to play international cricket for England. The gamble paid off as he represented England during 2013 in a T20 internationals followed by the 50 over format. Eventually, he got to feature in the 2013-14 Ashes series. While England was whitewashed 5 nil, Rankin managed to get a game down under.

Ireland Cricket on the ascendency

However, later in 2015 after missing out on the World Cup, he was back to Ireland. Having made it to the Test squad earlier, Rankin is the only player with some previous test experience. He asserted that if Ireland had test status earlier, he would’ve never gone to England.

“I certainly wouldn’t have gone to England and tried to play for England if test match status had been there for Ireland. Hopefully, it’s a really good occasion and we can kick on them from there to really grow the game”, he had earlier told.

While there have been various players who have represented different countries, it has never been in every format. Thus, Boyd Rankin became the first player to achieve this feat. No doubt, he will always be famous for being an Ireland as well as an English cricketer.

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