William Boyd Rankin (born 5 July 1984) is a Northern Irish former cricketer who played international cricket for Ireland, and briefly also for England. A right-arm medium-fast bowler, he was born in Derry and is the brother of fellow cricketer David Rankin. Standing 6 ft 8 inches tall, he is known for a distinctive bouncing action. In an interview, Rankin said his approach was modelled on bowlers such as Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath, who "hit the deck from just back of a length outside off stump".
Rankin studied agriculture at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire, where he also worked on his batting technique. In August 2012, he announced that he would stop playing for Ireland in the hope of representing England. He made his England debut in a Twenty20 international against New Zealand on 25 June 2013, and later played one Test for England during the 2013–14 Ashes series in Australia.
With limited prospects of a return to the England side, Rankin confirmed in December 2015 that he would commit to Ireland for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. He subsequently represented Ireland in both 20-over and 50-over formats. He was one of the eleven cricketers to feature in Ireland's first ever Test match, against Pakistan, in May 2018. In December 2018, he was among nineteen players awarded a central contract by Cricket Ireland for the 2019 season, and in January 2020 he was again awarded a central contract, in the first year in which all such contracts were offered on a full-time basis.
On 21 May 2021, Rankin announced his retirement from international and inter-provincial cricket.
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Boyd Rankin.