Rankin gets Houghton backing

Boyd Rankin helps Ireland to a shock win over Pakistan in the World Cup © Getty Images

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Derbyshire coach Dave Houghton is determined to ensure Ireland fast-bowling sensation Boyd Rankin realises his enormous potential when he returns to the county from the World Cup.

At 6ft 8in, the Derry-born paceman, who played a solitary one-day game last season, has all the physical attributes to go a long way in the game, according to Houghton.

And, like his idol Curtly Ambrose, he can produce bounce from just short of a length as Pakistan found out recently in the Caribbean, when he took 3-32 to shoot them out for 132 in a famous Ireland win.

Rankin added Michael Vaughan and Ed Joyce to his World Cup victims as Ireland came close to causing another World Cup upset against England, and Houghton does not see why he cannot play Test cricket.

Houghton told ecb.co.uk: “If you have a guy of that size who can bowl at that pace and can bowl incredible wicket-taking deliveries, that should be where he is aiming - the very highest.

Dave Houghton is in high spirits going into the season

“We feel exactly the same about him. It is up to us at the county to teach him what he needs to play at the top - and we will do that.

“We have known about Boyd for a long time and, obviously, he has impressed at the World Cup, but the demands are different for four-day cricket in terms of stamina.

“Make no mistake - we want to play him but we need to get him good and strong. We need to get him to the stage where he can bowl 15 overs one day and then 15 the next and so on.

Derbyshire have recruited well during the off-season in the forms of ex-Australia all-rounder Ian Harvey, who lives in England and is registered as a non-overseas player, former Australia left-hander Simon Katich and ex-Gloucestershire batsman Phil Weston amongst others.

Former England Under-19 seamer Simon Cusden has moved from Kent, while Katich has been handed the captaincy, although Graeme Welch - captain last year - will miss the opening weeks of the season after undergoing calf surgery.

Australian Simon Katich will captain Derbyshire in 2007

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Houghton continued: “We have really strengthened our batting. Simon Katich, Ian Harvey and Phil Weston are all really good signings and we will be relying on our young bowlers to see us through.

“Katich will very much be leading in his own style - perhaps in the last couple of seasons I have been doing too much of that role.

“He very much wants to be doing the the team-talks in the morning and in the evening, which is good so I can get on with what I do best, which is coach.”

There is certain solidity to the Derbyshire squad this year and former England A all-rounder Graham Wagg will be hoping to build on a promising start to his Derbyshire career in 2006 despite being hampered by a shoulder injury.

He offers options with his lively left-arm seamers and aggressive batting down the order, and impressed sufficiently in making 90 against Yorkshire in a warm-up match to cement his place in the side for the opening LV County Championship game of the season against Essex.

Graham Wagg has impressed with the bat during pre-season

“Waggy is playing well. He had a good first year for us last year, although it was only half a year because of an injury. He will start for us on Wednesday and he is a hell of a good cricketer,” enthused Houghton.

“Pre-season has gone excellently. It is the first time in my four years here that we have had good weather.

“We have been outdoors for two or three weeks now and have had three practice matches - it has been very different.”

Like most counties in the second tier of the championship, promotion is the priority in 2007, but Derbyshire will be tough to face in all forms of the game.

Houghton concluded: “Obviously, the main aim for this season is to get us promoted out of the second division in the championship and that will be my main focus all of the time.

“But, with the squad we have, we will be up there challenging as a decent one-day outfit as well.

“The Friends Provident Trophy is a bit hit and miss with only two teams going through from nine, Pro40 promotion is definitely on the cards and we will be very competitive in the Twenty20.”