Boyd Rankin back in English colors

England have included former Ireland fast bowler, Boyd Rankin, for the remainder of the ODI series against New Zealand. Steve Finn and Stuart Broad have been hit by injuries and it will take some time for them to recover. They may miss the ODI Series against New Zealand and, hence, Rankin is expected to play the remainder of the series against New Zealand.

“They are key parts of our one-day team, experienced campaigners and world-class bowlers,” Cook said. “The guys coming in haven’t got that experience and don’t know their games quite as well those two. They are hard boots to fill but it gave them an opportunity today to show everyone how good they are. When you are defending a small total it’s quite hard because you know the only way of winning is to bowl them out so you do start chasing it.”

When asked about Broad’s absence for ODI series, Cook said: “I think it’s a little bit more than that. As I said at the start of the day, if it had been a cup final it would have been touch and go. Clearly it’s not ideal. But it’s another week away and we have a good medical team, so fingers crossed.”

Rankin had retired from Ireland Cricket after having played 37 ODI’s and 15 T20’s. He wanted to make a comeback to the England squad, but was going through tough patches as he was constantly suffering from injuries.

“You try and have as balanced a bowling attack as possible,” Cook said. “James Harris impressed when he was in the squad, but you would have five bowlers of pretty much the same height and similar skill set. When you have five bowlers you want as much variety as you can. When you lose two tall bowlers you want to replace them with another tall bowler.”