Delighted Rankin completes recovery by bowling Ireland to a thrilling eight-run victory over Namibia ; sets up showdown with Kenya in Nairobi starting next Saturday
Back in May, Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin was told he could be out for the rest of the year as he prepared to go under the knife to remedy a serious shoulder injury. It was a frustrating time for the
big Derryman as he was still trying to establish himself in first-class cricket after bursting on to the scene at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies .But three months after the operation he was back taking wickets for the Warwickshire first team and over the past few days he has been terrifying Namibia’s batsmen with his extra bounce during what turned out to be a remarkable ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Windhoek.
His seven wickets in the match, including a career best 5-39 in the second innings, made sure Ireland snatched a barely believable eight-run victory over the previously unbeaten African side on Saturday.
The win means that if Ireland can win outright against Kenya next week while also avoiding a first-innings deficit, it will make it through to the final. In that case, it would again face Namibia in a repeat of this thrilling albeit low-scoring encounter.
It was a strange match which saw all 40 wickets falling inside two days and no batsman from either side managed to make it to 30.
“The scorecard suggests it was a bad pitch to bat on,” said the 6ft 7in Rankin. “But that’s not the case. The truth is that we just didn’t bat very well and we had to pull it back with our bowling,” he said.
That’s a bit of an understatement. Having collapsed to 69 all out the first time around, Ireland managed to struggle to 164 on the second time of asking, giving it a lead of 114 and an outside chance of victory. It was up to Rankin and his new-ball partner Peter Connell to front up for the Irish.
And they did just that. Connell (3-49) and Rankin (5-39) shared eight of the 10 wickets between them as Namibia crumbled under the pressure. Twenty-four-year-old Rankin, in particular, was impressive with his extra height offering more bounce and pace.
Former skipper Trent Johnston picked up two crucial wickets towards the end but fittingly it was Rankin who wrapped the match up as he had Kola Burger caught by Kyle McCallan for six, just nine runs short of what would have been its seventh straight win in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08.
“When I was injured, it was a very frustrating time for me. Immediately after the operation I went home to Ireland for three weeks which helped but the rest of the time was spent in rehab and doing gym work. It was quite boring because all I wanted to do was get back out there and start bowling again.
“They told me it could take more than six months to get back to bowling but I did it in three. Now I feel I am bowling reasonably well – there is still some pain in the shoulder but the more I bowl, the stronger it is getting. It was a great feeling to be able to come back and win this match and keep our hopes alive in the competition.
“Working with Allan Donald at Warwickshire has been great. He doesn’t seek to make many technical changes during the season – that’s more for the winter. It’s more about the mental side of the game, how to work a batsman over, how to think more about the game, how to work batsmen out and take more wickets.
“It’s great to work with the likes of Allan. He was one of the best bowlers in the world and I am really learning a lot from him,” said Rankin.
The Irishmen must feel the force is with them as they head to Nairobi . They have now stretched their unbeaten run in this competition to 13 matches, a record dating back to 2004. At present, they sit 10 points behind Kenya on the ladder with that final head-to-head being the last match in this year’s event bar the final. That means Ireland needs to tie or win the first innings and then follow it up with outright victory to make it through to another decider.
“We now head to Nairobi full of confidence. It was crucial that we beat Namibia and now if we can beat Kenya we will be in another final. This win has really given us a boost,” said Rankin.
Meanwhile, Kenya can get through to its second final in the history of this competition just by taking the first-innings points. The way this competition is shaping up it looks like another thrilling match is on the cards.
ICC MEDIA RELEASE