Rankin returns for Bangladesh T20s

Ireland have recalled Boyd Rankin to their 15-man squad for the forthcoming Twenty20 series against Bangladesh, after the Warwickshire fast bowler demonstrated his recovery from a foot injury sustained in April.

Rankin took 15 wickets during Ireland's successful ICC World Twenty20 qualification campaign in the UAE in March but he has only played second-XI cricket since then. Ireland will take on Bangladesh in three T20 matches, the first of which takes place on Wednesday, as part of their World Twenty20 preparations.

"It's obviously been a frustrating time sitting on the sidelines but it's great to be back bowling again," Rankin said. "The weather has hampered the amount of cricket I've played but I've been working hard in practise in the nets. I played for Warwickshire seconds against the MCC Universities, and I bowled seven overs in the three-day game against Northants taking 1 for 11.

"The T20's come at the right time for me as they are ideal in that they are just four over spells as I continue to build up my fitness and strength. The foot is feeling good - the initial healing period was given as 10-12 weeks, but we gave it a further two and I'm benefitting from that.

"I'm looking forward to the games in Belfast against Bangladesh as we've had some fantastic tussles against them in recent years. We played some great cricket in qualifying for Sri Lanka and the new ball partnership with Trent and myself proved pretty effective. This is an important series for Irish cricket and hopefully if selected I'll play an important part in it."

Andrew Poynter, the allrounder who hit the winning runs in the World Twenty20 Qualifier final against Afghanistan has also been added to the squad, which contains the 13 players named for the rain-wrecked ODI against Australia last month.

Bangladesh will play two warm up games at Comber on Monday July 16. The first will be against an Ireland XI captained by Andrew White at 12.30pm, followed at 5pm by a second fixture against a Northern Cricket Union select XI.