Of the 2,974 players who have played Test cricket, a select list of fifteen players have represented two nations. A subset of that list is an exclusive list of 13 players – who have represented one country in Test cricket and have also played against the same nation at a later time.
On Wednesday, when Ireland took on England at Lord’s, Boyd Rankin joined an exclusive club of players – a list comprising individuals who have represented and played against a particular national team in Test cricket.
Born in Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Rankin made his international debut in 2007 – on that occasion representing the country of his birth. A few years later though, he gave up his international career in Irish colours, instead focusing to qualify to play Test cricket for England.
In June 2013, Rankin earned his England international debut in a T20I series against New Zealand, and a couple of months later made his England ODI debut – ironically against Ireland.
After impressive performances in the limited overs format, he achieved what he set out to do; he was called up to the England Test team and made his Test debut on the Ashes tour of 2013-14.
In 2015, he pulled the curtains down on his international career with England, and once again made himself available for Ireland.
In 2018 he was part of the historic occasion of Ireland's first-ever Test match, and now in July 2019, will take the field as part of the Ireland team playing against England.
The wheel has certainly come round for Boyd Rankin.
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