Irish chief grateful to Warriors after Rankin returns to the county scene

BOYD Rankin has returned to county cricket with the Derbyshire Falcons for the remainder of the Vitality T20 Blast and made his debut last night against the Northants Steelbacks.

Cricket Ireland signed a No Objection Certificate this week to allow Rankin to play in the competition and take him out of the North West Warriors’ remaining Inter-provincial Championship games and the T20 Festival at his home ground in Bready this month.

The Blast continues into September but Rankin will leave before that to team up with the Belfast Titans for the start of the Euro T20 Slam on August 30.

Rankin started his county career with Derbyshire in 2006 before moving for a 10-year stay at Warwickshire which ended when he was released last season.

Head of Cricket at Derbyshire, Dave Houghton, said: “Boyd has international experience and will fit in well with the bowlers we already have. With the pace and bounce that he generates, he will bring a new dimension and give us that bit extra.”

Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth thanked the Warriors’ coaching staff for supporting the decision, “recognising the opportunity for one of our key players to be in peak form by the time of (the T20 World Cup qualifiers in October) to hopefully put us back on the world stage.”

Rankin (below) bowled his four overs and took 1-32 but has to wait until next Friday before the Falcons play their next game, at home to Durham. Meanwhile, Brigade have one hand on the North West Senior Cup after closing the first day of this year’s final against Glendermott at Eglinton with a lead of 260.

After hitting 305-8 in their first innings they dismissed Glendermott for 139 but, surprisingly, did not enforce the follow on. They are 94-2 second time around with 31 overs and their three top scorers yesterday still to bat when play resumes at noon today.

The underdogs were delighted with the first 35 overs of the match, restricting Brigade to 144-5, but the Cup holders and unbeaten Premiership leaders crashed 161 from the last 15 overs with Johnny Thompson hitting 66 from 73 balls, skipper Andy Britton 61 from just 42 and David Murdock joining in the mayhem with 31 from 21, with three fours and two sixes.

Thompson and Britton put on 110 from 69 balls for the sixth wicket, including 26 off an eightball over from David Cooke.

Only two of Glendermott’s top eight batsmen made double figures

Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) and pace men Britton, Ryan McBeth and Rachit Gaur shared seven wickets, before Ross Allen dismissed top scorer Alan Johnston and Ryan Barr.

They were all out in the 33rd over, and that left plenty of time for Brigade to bat for a second time before the light faded at 8.45pm.