Boyd Rankin on Wednesday became the first player in more then 70 years to play for and against England as Ireland take on the new ICC Cricket World Cup champions in an one-off four-day Test at Lord's, London. The last player to do so against England was former Indian captain Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, in 1946.
Rankin, 35-year-old right-arm medium-pacer, made his international debut as an Ireland player in an ODI against Bermuda in 2007. He then played for England following the footsteps of fellow Irishmen Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce.
But with limited opportunities in England, he retured to Ireland. Befpre that, he played one Test match for England, against Australia in Sydney during the 2013-14 Ashes, and a couple of ODIs.
He played in Ireland's inaugural Test against Pakistan last year.
And today, he became only the sixth player to play for and against a team in Test cricket after Billy Midwinter, Billy Murdoch, JJ Ferris, Sammy Woods, Frank Hearne, Albert Trott, Frank Mitchell, IAK Pataudi, Gul Mahomed, AH Kardar, Amir Elahi, Sammy Guillen and Kepler Wessels.
