By Matt Somerford
Warwickshire quick Boyd Rankin might need directions to this weekend’s Royal London One-Day Cup final at Lord’s.
The 30-year-old has travelled all across the country during his decade-long county career but he has, remarkably, never played a domestic match at headquarters.
Rankin’s county career actually began with Middlesex’s second XI in 2004, to start a journey towards international cricket that has seen him take in towns from Hartlepool to Maidstone along the way.
“It is a strange little fact – I’ve never played a domestic game at Lord’s in 10 years,” he told ecb.co.uk.
“I’m fairly excited to play my first game for Warwickshire at Lord’s in a final!”
Rankin’s only two Lord’s appearances came for Ireland in 2009.
He played a World Twenty20 warm-up match against the Netherlands before the Irish were narrowly beaten by eventual finalists Sri Lanka in the tournament proper.
It was, coincidentally, Rankin’s involvement in the 2012 World Twenty20 that ruled him out of Warwickshire’s last trip to a Lord’s final - when they were beaten by Hampshire on ‘wickets lost’ after the game was tied– while he was injured for their 2010 win over Somerset.
Finally, however, the England international is now ready to make the trek to Lord’s and in director of cricket Dougie Brown - who has suggested his players should walk to the ground to take in the atmosphere - he has someone he can rely on to offer him tips on the occasion.
Brown played in five Lord’s finals during his career and Rankin has been bending his ear on what to expect.
“It’s good to have someone like him, and Jonathan Trott who has been to a few Lord’s finals, to talk about the day,” Rankin said.
“He’s told us to go out and enjoy it. That will be important.
“Trotty too has been great. He’s helping out the young lads and he’s had a great season with the bat, especially in this competition. He’s back to his best as far as I’m concerned. Hopefully he can do it again on Saturday.
“I think the whole team are really looking to get down to Lord’s and getting started.
“It would be great if we could lift that trophy and do the double and, if we can get second in the championship too, that would be a great season.”
The Bears have already banked silverware this season following their NatWest T20 Blast successlast month.
At that point a potential treble was on the cards – to match their unprecedented achievement from 20 years ago – until Yorkshire stormed away to the LV= County Championship title.
A trophy double would still represent a significant achievement and Rankin believes their Finals Day success stands them in good stead for Lord’s.
“It is a good help. To have been in that similar situation before and having won is important,” he said.
“We can take a lot of confidence from that T20 win and we’ve taken that into our 50-over cricket. It is going well in all forms and I think that is down to the fact that everybody gets on really well.
“There is a lot of banter floating around in the dressing room. It’s a really good place to play cricket.”
Rankin has certainly revelled in Warwickshire’s winning environment to cast a troubled winter tour of Australia behind him.
By his own admission Rankin did not enjoy the best of times Down Under - despite making his Test debut - but he has come back strong this season.
His pace and bounce mean that he is unlikely to be discounted for a World Cup place just yet and, after admitting he had a point to prove at the start of the season, Rankin feels he is starting to menace batsmen again.
“I probably didn’t show the best of myself when I was out in Australia during that Test match and the couple of one-dayers,” he said.
“I was struggling with a bit of an injury back then. I feel like I am back to somewhere near my best – where I was at the back end of last season.
“I did think I had something to prove. I knew that if I could get back to anywhere like where I was before then I would be a handful in terms of my pace and bounce.
“I think that is all I’ve tried to do this year, get back to that.”
He has proved his quality in the Royal London Cup, where Rankin’s economy rate of 3.90 is the best of any bowler to have delivered at least 10 overs.
The right-armer has taken his seven wickets at an average of 18.57 and – with Saturday’s final set to be beamed live on Sky Sports – Rankin is aware it might be a shop window to remind the England selectors that he remains a possible World Cup selection.
“I have that ambition to play in a World Cup but that is down to the people who make those decisions,” he said.
“All I can do is go out and try and show what I can do. With the wickets over there they have a bit of pace and bounce in them so they would suit me, but at the end of the day it is just down to me to try and do the right things in terms of every game that play.”
For now Rankin is just happy to reflect on a challenging 12-month period where he believes he has improved greatly, and would love to cap it with a Lord’s triumph.
“At times it was really tough but you learn a lot from those types of situations,” he said.
“I think I am a better player now and I think I have learned a lot. I always had that belief that I could come back stronger.
“I’m just really pleased with how things have gone this season and hopefully I can get a couple of more wins to end the season.
“That would make it a really great end to the season if we could do the double and finish second in the championship. That would be a really good season for us.”
Royal London One-Day Cup final facts
*Durham and Warwickshire have won five matches apiece of their last 10 List A meetings. Durham have won three of the last four, including this year’s group stage clash at Gosforth.
*All of the last five and nine of the last 11 List A matches between these teams have been won by the team that batted second.
*This is Warwickshire’s 18th domestic List A final. They have won eight and lost nine of their previous 17 Lord’s finals. Durham won their only previous domestic final, in 2007.
*Durham have won their last five completed Royal London One Day Cup matches. They last won six consecutive completed List A games in 2007, when they went on to win the Friends Provident Trophy.
*Rikki Clarke’s dot ball percentage of 66% in Royal London One Day Cup 2014 is the highest of anyone to deliver at least 10 overs.
*Of players with at least 10 wickets in Royal London One Day Cup 2014, Paul Collingwood (3.99) and Clarke (4.07) have the lowest economy rates.
*Durham have hit 257 boundary fours in this year’s competition, 34 more than any other team. Warwickshire have hit 174 fours, the ninth most. Durham have hit 32 sixes, Warwickshire 18.
*Warwickshire’s Boyd Rankin’s economy rate of 3.92 in Royal London One Day Cup 2014 is the lowest of anyone to deliver at least 10 overs.
*Jonathan Trott has scored centuries in each of his last three List A innings against Durham – in 2007, 2010 and this season.