Dubai: Ireland pacer Boyd Rankin wants to play Test cricket for England.
Rankin, who is here as member of the International Cricket Council Combined Associate and Affiliate XI cracked a fighting 43 at the No.10 slot against England on the first day of the warm up match at the ICC Global Cricket Academy ground to prove that he is also a fine allrounder.
“I have been working very hard and I want to play at the highest level. My goal is to play Test cricket for England,” said Rankin, who has been performing consistently for Ireland and has even played for England Lions team
“I have been training with the Lions for the last few months. If I can get a good performance that will start to show coaches and captain what I can do then it will be good for me and hopefully in the long run play Test cricket for England,” added Rankin, who also represents Warwickshire in county cricket.
“Unfortunately I cannot play Test cricket for Ireland so I want to play Test cricket for England. I want to be the best player I can be and hopefully put on a good performance to reach that level and play for England. There are a lot of fast bowlers ahead of me but people can get injured so you never know,” he said.
When asked about the drain of talent for Ireland which had also produced Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce, he said: “To be honest once we get to that stage everyone is going to try and play for England because that is the next step along the line The only way is if ICC can give Ireland Test status so that there is another room for the likes of myself and others to play Test cricket for home country,” he added.
Rankin also suggested that ICC should consider the Combined Associate XI team for Test cricket. “It will give the guys in the different countries something to aim for. A Combined ICC team is capable of playing against the best side in the world,” he said.
“I head off to Bangladesh straight after this match to join up with the Lions so it is a big month for me. I was in South Africa before Christmas, working on a few new skills so hopefully I can put them to good use, put the performances in and give me the chance of a call-up,” he concluded.
