Boyd Rankin produced a spell of sustained aggression which claimed 3 for 8 in 29 balls to give his side the better of a rain-reduced opening day
George Dobell at Edgbaston26-Jun-2016
ScorecardBoyd Rankin gave a reminder of his qualities•Getty Images
Witnessing Boyd Rankin bowling like this must be like having seen the Loch Ness monster, Big Foot or an alien landing: the more you tell people about, the more they doubt you and question your sanity.Rankin, you see, didn’t do himself justice on the biggest stage. So when most people think of him, they do not think of the fearsome fast bowler obtaining life on docile pitches that spectators at Ireland and Warwickshire value, but a diffident fast-medium seamer who appeared uncomfortable in the spotlight and looked somewhat below the requisite standard.It is, to some extent, an understandable view. Rankin’s single Test appearance in the final match of England’s miserable Ashes drubbing in 2013-14 was a nightmare: injured in the days immediately prior to the Test – he tore the cartilage in his shoulder in a notoriously brutal fitness session a couple of days before the game – and suffering a back spasm during it. The result was a performance lacking any of the pace and bite England required. Such was his disillusionment afterwards, he considered retiring.But, in an environment where he is valued and comfortable – he was on an unfortunate England tour from that perspective – he remains an unusually hostile bowler. And here, on a pitch offering little pace and no great movement and on which both sides wanted to bat first, he produced a spell of sustained aggression which claimed 3 for 8 in 29 balls to give his side the better of a rain-reduced opening day.The ball that dismissed Riki Wessles was a brute of a delivery. Climbing sharply from just back of a length, it also left the batsman and took the edge with such pace that Tim Ambrose, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, took the ball above his head and had to parry it up before making sure of the chance.Samit Patel and Jake Libby, both understandably cautious about propping on to the front foot against such missiles, were dismissed in similar style: their uncertainty exploited by good-length balls on off stump that demanded a stroke, Rankin gained just enough bounce and just enough movement in the air to take the edge. It was, by any standards, fine bowling but, on a relatively slow wicket, it was outstanding.Quite why or how it is that Rankin suddenly clicks into this sort of rhythm is hard to say. If he could harness it with any sort of regularity, he would have enjoyed a far more successful Test career.He may yet, though. As things stand, there is an opportunity for one of the Associate nations to qualify through a play-off in 2019 and, bearing in mind Ireland’s fine record in the Intercontinental Cup, they are well-placed to win that opportunity.But there is also a growing chance that the ICC will look to increase the number of nations playing Test cricket with the matter due to be discussed at their annual conference in the coming week. Rankin admitted that he is keenly anticipating the results of that meeting.”Hopefully I won’t just be remembered as a one-Test wonder,” Rankin said. “I didn’t do myself justice in Sydney. I wasn’t fit, but I felt I had to play and it didn’t go as I would have liked.”I’ve probably been bowling at my best in the last two or three years. Since I stopped playing for England, really. I know my role better and I know the lads better at Warwickshire. I suppose I’m more relaxed. With England you’re always under pressure to perform.”The possibility of playing Test cricket is a huge carrot for Ireland. We feel we merit it. We’re confident we could do well against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and West Indies at the moment. I just hope we get the opportunity to show what we can do. I’ll have one eye on the ICC conference next week, for sure.”We’re playing a couple of ODIs in England next year, too, and playing at Lord’s especially will be really special.”Rankin benefited from excellent support here. So disciplined were the Warwickshire attack that Nottinghamshire only managed 12 boundaries in the 61 overs possible and several of those were off the edge and one through the legs of a fielder. Steven Mullaney was punished for playing back when he should have been forward and Michael Lumb was beaten by a quicker one from Jeetan Patel.Mark Adair, a 20-year-old seamer from Northern Ireland preferred to Oliver Hannon-Dalby for this match, did not manage a wicket but took the edge a couple of times by gaining movement both ways at a decent pace. It is far from impossible that he may one day share the bowling in a Test with Rankin.That Nottinghamshire did not capitulate entirely was largely due to Libby. Standing not unlike a right-handed Eoin Morgan – his body bent so low, his eyes are only a foot or so above off stump – he was patient, compact and disciplined in compiling a half-century from 155 balls. That fifty contained four boundaries, two of which – a clip off his legs and a steer to third man – were deliberate and two of which were edges. None were in front of square.That is not a criticism. Had Nottinghamshire been at full strength, he almost certainly would not have played. But here he produced the innings his side required and the bowling demanded and, while Brendan Taylor squandered his wicket with a flick that went straight to Jeetan Patel on the square-leg boundary, it took another fine ball to take Libby’s outside edge. Nobody else in the top six managed more than 14.These are worrying times for Nottinghamshire. Having won their first Championship match this season, they have lost four out of seven since and find themselves looking more towards the bottom of the table than the top. They have been here before – they were bottom after eight games last year, with exactly the same win-loss ratio and points tally as they have now – but they no longer have James Taylor to bail them out; he scored a double-century in a crucial game at Horsham that went a long way to sentencing Sussex to the drop instead of them.Reinforcements are on their way, though. In next weeks’ Championship game, against top-of-the-table Lancashire, they expect to have Stuart Broad, Imran Tahir and Chris Read (who netted at Edgbaston on Sunday) available. They are plenty good enough to avoid relegation and they will rarely come up against an attack bowling as well as this.