The England Cricket Board have initiated a process that could end in another Irish cricket international switching allegiances by naming Boyd Rankin in their Performance Programme for young fast bowlers, writes RTÉ Sport's John Kenny.
Rankin, 25, who plays his club cricket with Warwickshire, could now join Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan on the list of players to have left Ireland to play their international cricket with England.
Having been called up to the English Performace Programme, Rankin will spend a month in Florida with four other players at a conditioning camp from next month and then he will head for the MRF Bowling Camp in Chennai in India where he will be trained by Australian pace legend Dennis Lillee.
That camp is in January 2010 and will clash with Ireland’s Intercontinental Cup match and One Day Internationals against Afghanistan.
Although Rankin is apparently on the point of declaring for England, it is hoped that the Beady, Co Derry, born player will be free to play in the World Twenty20 qualifiers in Dubai which take place from the 9-13 February.
Ireland does not have Test status and as a result it seems that more and more of the Irish squad will be lost to the English fold with the English Test and County Cricket Board (ECB) now becoming a real problem for Cricket Ireland in their attempts to hold on to their best players.
