Boyd Rankin was impressive for England in the recent ODI series against Australia. Source: AAP
THE Irish giant is in Australia.
Well technically he's Northern Irish, but these days in English cricket, nobody's really keeping check of those sorts of details.
We're speaking, of course, about Boyd Rankin, the tallest and newest member of England's pace battery sent down under to shatter the dreams - and maybe more - of Australia's fragile batting line-up.
Some Aussie fans became familiar with the 2.04m quick (that's 6ft 8in in the old language) after watching him bowl against Australia in the post-Ashes one-day series in England.
Five wickets at an average of 21 was enough to convince selectors he was worthy of his first Ashes tour, where he'll be joined by fellow two-metre-plus bowlers Steve Finn and Chris Tremlett.
But don't be fooled by Rankin's size - he's really just a shy lad from Bready, a farming town west of Belfast that has a population of 100 and an indoor cricket centre, as you do.
While his height might not equate to a dominant presence, it does result in one natural assumption being proved correct - he bowls with plenty of pace and bounce.
At his peak he can reach speeds above 140km/h, and even without the traditionally helpful Australian pitches he can pepper batsmen's heads with an array of short stuff.
The key for Rankin, should he receive an opportunity to prove himself on this tour, will be knowing when to bowl short and when to keep the batsmen guessing.
Many bowlers arrive on these shores and, especially at the Gabba and WACA Ground, forget about bowling in the batsmen's half of the pitch as they fail to resist the temptation offered by the bouncy pitches.
But the 29-year-old has plenty of experience under his belt, and is hardly a newcomer to the international scene.
He came to prominence back in the 2007 World Cup while playing for Ireland, taking 12 wickets as the men in green stunned the cricketing world by defeating Pakistan and Bangladesh on their journey to the knockout stages of the tournament.
He's gone on to play 42 ODIs and 17 T20 internationals, averaging 29.67 and 21.55 respectively.
After switching allegiances to England last year - a move that provoked some anger in the Emerald Isle - his performances went into overdrive as he pushed for a Test call-up.
Playing county cricket for Warwickshire this year, he picked up 30 wickets from nine matches at an average of 23 and that form, combined with his impressive showings against Australia, bought him a ticket down under.
And now it seems he's a real chance of featuring in the opening Test in Brisbane on November 21.
"He's a big tall lump and he can get the ball down at pretty close to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h)," England captain Alastair Cook said last week.
"I think you can see from the selection of the squad that we think pace and bounce will be quite crucial on Australian wickets.
"He (Rankin) certainly gives us that option. He hasn't played a Test, he hasn't been around the Test match environment before so interesting to see how he goes."
Interesting, and potentially very scary.
31 Oct, 2013
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Source: http://www.news.com.au/national/englands-boyd-rankin-pushing-for-test-debut-after-impressive-showings-in-one-day-cricket/story-e6frfkp9-1226750219398?from=public_rss
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