Boyd is himself a remarkable bowler. His great height, besides immediately bringing to mind Curtley Ambrose and Joel Garner - two players whom he greatly admires - makes him a formidable proposition, able to obtain awkward lift in most conditions, his ability to swing the ball adding greatly to his armoury. He also has a safe pair of hands, usually in the gully when on Warwickshire duty, but his batting - though a strong element of his play during his schooldays, no longer merits such a description. His county team-mate, fellow pace bowler Keith Barker nominated him in his Dream XI in a 2013 edition of "The Cricket Paper" but remarked, "He's not in here for his batting, that's for sure." Barker added the following description of Boyd in action, "he celebrates his wickets like an eight year old girl, which is quite scary. He screams every time he takes a wicket and he jumps as high as he cans - which is pretty high." Boyd's batting has always been vigorous and uncomplicated, using his height and reach to great advantage. Never has ths been better seen than at Maghermason on 28 June 2003 against Fox Lodge. Coming in at No 8, Boyd had already reached a half century, when Adrian Heywood, two wickets already under his belt, began the final over. Boyd struck each of the last five balls for six, finishing on 88 not out, leaving Bready on a match winning 262-7. Adrian's figures were 5-0-60-2.

Boyd, with or without his airborne acrobatics was a prominent cricketer from his earliest years at Strabane GS, where he was an exact contemporary of his great friend William Porterfield , first attracted notice beyond his school and club in 1998, when he was part of the Irish U13 XI which took part in the Edinburgh Cricket Festival at Fettes College. The side, led by Porterfield and also including Eoin Morgan and Gary Wilson, won two of its matches while the third was rained off. Boyd had 3-13 against Scotland to snatch a 20 run victory after Ireland had been dismissed for 76. The following day Ireland needed 83 on a drying wicket against Durham, five wickets fell quickly but Boyd with 10 stood firms with Glen Logan (21) to win by 5 wickets. The following year saw his batting again to the fore this time at Interprovincial level, as North West, led by Porterfield took the title. They lost to NCU, despite Boyd topscoring with 31, then beat Leinster by 8 wickets Boyd finishing on 34*. Much as Keith Barker might struggle to believe it, he was at it again in the trophy clinching third match with Munster. This time Porterfield made a half century, but Boyd with 39 ensured that North West posted a tournament highest 247-5 which was far too much for Munster.

His batting again was to appear as his strongest suit for Ireland U15 that summer. Unfortunately he injured his back in the first match and was unable to bowl to any effect in the remaining games. However scores of 19 against Scotland and 16 against Denmark meant that in a tournament in which 3 of the 4 sides finished level on points, he was by no means a passenger. Performances for Ireland over the next few years in the European Championships at U17 and U 19 level and in the U19 World Cup of 2003/04 - by which time he had made his debut for the full side - were not spectacular but did enough to support the high opinions held of him. An essential member of the full Irish attack by 2006, he turned in two match winning performances for the U23 side in the European championships, held that year in Dublin. Against the Netherlands at Observatory Lane his figures of 10-0-40 3 disrupted the visitors batting and prepared the ground for Ireland to win by 5 wickets, while at Malahide he was more economical with an analysis of 10-2-27-3, helping set up a 4 wicket victory. His reputation as a hostile strike bowler had also, of course, long been confirmed by his feats for Bready to which we must now turn.

As has been the case with his Irish team-mates such as Porterfield, Morgan, Wilson and Ed Joyce, Boyd's decision to follow a professional career on the county circuit, has meant that the Irish game has not seen as much of him as followers, particularly those at Maghermason, as they would have wished. His breakthrough for Bready came in the 2002 season when he took 38 wickets at 14.68. Two matches taken, almost at random, from his season show his worth to the Mason Road side that summer. Rain reduced the League match with Drummond to a 20 over affair. Boyd returned figures of 4-0-13-3 which led to Bready winning by 4 wickets. In the Cup against Killymallaght, he bowled his team to victory with figures of 3-9 from 6.5 overs. Among other feats may note two fine all round performances - Keith Barker take note - in the Cup in 2005. In the first round he contributed much to the 38 runs defeat of Strabane. Batting first Bready posted a useful 228, Boyd's 38 - lbw to Bobby Rao - sharing the top score with that reliable player Mr Extras. Then he took 3-40 in his 10 overs as Strabane - despite a dominating 88 from Peter Gillespie - were dismissed for 190. It was Boyd's capture of Gillespie's wicket that ended their hopes. In the second round, however, Bready went out to Glendermott, though Boyd at No 9 topscored with 37* and took 3-44.

His obvious potential in his early years in the Irish side began to attract the attention of English counties with the result that he had two seasons with Middlesex, though he never made a first class appearance. Playing in a side which often included Eoin Morgan and saw him contest the right to have the new ball with Steve Finn and Middlesex's success of the 2012 season, Toby Roland-Jones, he had several notable performances, though his chances were hindered by the county's evident desire to use the matches as trials for likely players with the result that bowlers were often used in short spells, frequently waiting some time to get on. Thus against Essex in 2004, Boyd had to stand and watch the score pass 300 before coming on as third change. He promptly took 5-38 in 8.3 overs but could not stop the opposition reaching 371-6. Middlesex replied with 329-4 - Morgan 129* - and the match petered out with Boyd not bowling in the second innings.

Some good performances for Derbyshire 2nd XI in 2006 - he was also playing league cricket in the county with some success - gained him a place in the County XI for 2007, his reputation having been further enhanced by his deeds for Ireland in the World Cup. Unfortunately injury restricted his first class appearances to three, but he had an outstanding match against Middlesex at Derby in mid-May, which must have been the cause for much satisfaction. Middlesex, put in, were dismissed for 248 Boyd having figures of 23.3-7-80-4. He removed opener Nick Compton and later cleaned up the tail including Tim Murtagh, now his possible successor as Ireland's strike bowler. Derbyshire conceded a first innings lead of 23, before Middlesex collapsed for 180, having been 56-0. Boyd (15-3-41-4) was the main reason for this, his wickets including Joyce, former England batsman Ed Smith now a Times leader writer and TMS commentator, and all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple. His work was wasted however as his batsmen declined the chase of 204 in 38 overs, a missed chance as Derbyshire won only 3 matches in the season.

Looking for a more prominent county, Boyd joined Warwickshire in 2008. A regular choice when available, his matches having been restricted by injury and international call-ups, he had, by the end of the 2015 season taken 213 first class wickets. We may note two outstanding performances. A rain affected match against Essex in August 2010 saw him the fifth bowler used in an Essex total of 114. In WISDEN'S words, he "polished off the tail" The last four batsmen failed to score as Boyd finished with a then career best of 5.4-1-16-5, leaving Ravi Bopara high and dry on an unbeaten half century. The hosts went on to win by 7 wickets. His 55 Championship wickets in 2011 almost saw The Bears to the title but his best bowling figures for them came in 2015, by which time he had returned to full form and fitness, following the disappointments of the 2013/14 Australian tour. Against Yorkshire at Headingley in late April Warwickshire batted first and piled up 435, a good score anywhere and a very good one there, with Ian Westwood making a fine 196. Again the fifth bowler used Boyd then bowled Warwickshire to a 132 runs first innings lead with a return of 15.3-0-65-6, including Cheteshawar Pujura, Andrew Gale and rising White Rose star Jack Leaming.

He has been less successful in List A matches in county cricket, his best performance coming against Kent at Edgbaston in 2010. After Kent had reached 57-2, he took 3 wickets in 5 balls and finished with 4-39, Rob Key (86) having led a partial recovery. Warwickshire, however, had little difficulty in recording a 6 wickets victory. It has also been in a List A match that he has made his sole appearance for England Lions against Sri Lanka A at Northampton in 2011. Boyd had 2-19, the most successful of the England bowlers as Sri Lanka collapsed disappointingly for 129.

In his 82 matches for Ireland, at all levels, Boyd has taken 112 wickets at 24.12. Here we will consider some of his most successful matches. He was prominent in that St Patrick's Day epic at Sabina Park in 2007. When Trent Johnston won the toss and inserted Pakistan, Boyd took the second over, his first ball felling Imran Nazir. Langford-Smith then disposed of the other opener, before Boyd, in his second over had the brilliant batsman Younis Khan edge to Botha at slip. Pakistan struggled in difficult conditions before wicket keeper Kamran Akmal appeared to take control. Having been 72-6, they reached 102 before Boyd in the 31st over struck again, Azar Mahmood, a very good all-rounder, top edged a bouncer to Trent Johnston at mid-wicket. Four balls later Akmal holed out to a diving catch by Trent, now at mid-on, Boyd was to finish with 9-1-32-3, the rest, as they say, is history.

In first class matches he had two outstanding performances in the must win Intercontinental Cup Matches against Namibia at Windhoek in October/ November 2008. In the first game, Ireland - put in - were shot out for 69. Thanks to Boyd (2-36) and Peter Connell (4-24) Namibia's lead was restricted to 50 but Ireland were again bowled out cheaply, leaving Namibia 114 to win. They went about it in almost ODI mode taking far too many liberties against Boyd and Connell, though the former was hit for two successive 6s at one stage. Boyd was rested at 91-7 but came back with the hosts requiring 9 to win. Another indiscreet stroke resulted in a catch to Kyle McCallan at third man and Ireland were home by 8 runs, Connell was Man of the Match but Boyd with 12-3-39-5 was hero of the hour. Kenya were defeated in the batsmen dominated next match which brought Ireland to the final, which Namibia only had to draw to win the Cup.

Batting second Ireland were 55 runs behind despite Peter Connell's "5 for", Boyd, the next most successful had 2-68. They then bowled Namibia out for a second innings 145. Alex Cusack, whose first innings 95* had kept Ireland in the hunt was to be to be Man of the Match but Boyd, swinging the ball alarmingly was the outstanding bowler with figures of 16.3-4-39-4. A superb hundred from Niall O'Brien then carried Ireland to victory by 9 wickets.

Finally we should recall Boyd's three successive Man of the Match performances in the World Cup T20 Qualifiers early in 2012. Against Kenya he had 3-20 from his 4 overs as Kenya collapsed for 71, Porterfield and Paul Stirling then taking Ireland to a 10 wickets victory.

His 3-16, as first change against an Italian side including one outstanding batsman in Michael Di Venuto of Tasmania Derbyshire and Durham as well as a very good one in the South African all-rounder Gareth Berg of Middlesex, restricted the score to 100-7, Ireland going on to win by 2 wickets thanks to 30* from Gary Wilson.

His best figures came against USA, gaining him his third successive award. Ireland posted a match winning 160-6 before Boyd 4-1-9-4 and Stirling 3-1-9-1 bowled Ireland to a convincing win.

Near the end of the 2012 English season, during which he suffered much from injury, Boyd made the announcement which Irish cricket officials, players and followers had feared for some time. He would retire from Irish cricket after the T20 World Cup to concentrate on winning an England place. He said that if this had not happened within two years, he would be available for Ireland again. This decision was understandable if not exactly welcome. Many, including it must be admitted this writer, believed that Boyd had underestimated the task in front of him, considering the wealth of pace bowling talent available to England. Ashley Giles, then the Warwickshire coach, was then also an England selector. He offered Boyd a new county contract on the condition that he gave up playing for Ireland, declaring instead for England. What the "King of Spain's" motives really were is not for this writer to speculate, but many thought he had, at the very least a conflict of interest and was, at least in part, aiming to protect a prime asset. Cricket Ireland officials - according to an article by Tim Wigmore in The Cricket Paper of 29 January 2016 - complained to the ECB Chief Executive David Collier, about Giles' actions. We may add here that at least one other county, Somerset, also in pursuit of Boyd took the same attitude as Giles.

However Boyd's selection for England's 2013-14 tour of Australia was well deserved, following his performances in T20 and One Day Internationals. While he reserved his best for that marvellous day at Malahide, he was also highly impressive against the Australians. It seemed that he would have to compete for a Test place with Chris Tremlett and Steve Finn, bowlers of similar stature as England seemed bent on using tall fast bowlers to disrupt their hosts. Alas all three, in company with several of their team mates, experienced a "tour from hell." Outside the Tests Boyd took 7 first class wickets, including 3-46 in a warm up match just before the First Test. Eventually making the side for the Final Test he found himself, in the words of The Independent's cricket correspondent Stephen Brenkley in WISDEN "pulling up short with the first ball of two new spells." His pace and bounce did attract praise from some Australian journalists, but the wicket of Peter Siddle was small consolation for a disappointing debut. Selection for the England performance squad in South Africa the following winter, suggested that he was still on the selectors' radar but during 2015 it became increasingly likely that he would return to his native country. Finally, after much speculation, an approach from John Bracewell led to Boyd making his decision around the turn of the year. He had, it must be said the full support of Warwickshire coach Dougie Brown, the county's approach seemingly rather different from what it had been under the previous administration.

The above was originally written in 2012 and twice updated. Boyd's retirement from international and interprovincial cricket provides the opportunity to provide a further instalment of his biography. His career with Warwickshire continued until the end of the 2018 season, though his appearances in his final year were limited. He played his last county championship away against Yorkshire at the end of the 2017 season, taking 2-55 in the first innings in a match lost by 2 runs. In all in this format he took 276 wickets at 27.28 with 7 five wicket hauls. He made no List A appearances after 2016, in which season he took 4-66 against Lancashire at but saw his side lose by 42 runs, despite 40 from Porterfield. The alumni of Strabane Grammar School had another good match in Boyd's only other appearance when he took 2-37 v Leicestershire at Edgbaston then saw William make 75 to see the Bears to a 9 wickets win. In all List A matches for the County, Boyd had 46 wickets at 23.26. In his final season he most in demand in T20 matches, playing in almost every match and taking a career best - for Warwickshire - 3-26 v Leicestershire.

In 2019 he bid farewell to English domestic cricket playing for Mosely in the Birmingham Premier League, always a tough and hard-fought competition, and making five appearances - as an overseas player - for Derbyshire in the T20 Vitality Blast. He met with little success in the latter but proved a worthy opponent in the former. Always troubling the batsmen, this writer seeing him play twice, he had a best bowling analysis of 9.2-2-21-4 against the much fancied Shrewsbury batting line up. Unfortunately his heroics came to nothing as, having dismissed their opponents for 178, Mosely crumbled to 112 all out.

Boyd's return to Irish cricket made him available for North West Warriors in the interprovincial competitions. He appeared in all three formats but his best match was a T20 against Northern Knights in 2018 when he took 2-18, the prided wickets of Sean Getkate and Neil Rock. However as the Warriors has posted a moderate 78, Boyd's double strike was not enough to bring a surprise victory.

He also, of course. returned to the national side. By the time he announced his retirement in May 2021, he had taken 229 wickets in 153 matches at 23.25. His pace may well have dropped from his earlier days but he was still a formidable opponent. On his return to the colours in January 2016, he had match figures of 6-60 against Papua New Guinea as he and Tim Murtagh, with the assistance of Craig Young bowled Ireland to a 145 runs victory. Another fine performance came in a high scoring draw against the Netherlands at Malahide in August 2017. Ireland - thanks to an undefeated double hundred from Andy Balbirnie posted 477-6 declared, before Boyd with figures of 19.5-7-49-5 helped dismiss the visitors for 375. A further declaration, however, failed to bring about a definite result. In November in Dubai he had match figures of 6-88 as Ireland crushed Scotland by 203 runs.

And so to Ireland's inaugural Test Match against Pakistan at Malahide in May 2018. The match will always be remembered for Kevin O'Brien's magnificent century, but to Boyd came a record that can never be taken away from him. A smart second slip catch by William Porterfield, saw him dismiss Ashar Ali and take Ireland's first Test wicket. Other fine performances were still to come, including his brief intervention on that never to be forgotten morning at Lord's when his 3-1-5-2 stopped a potential England first innings recovery in its tracks. before the unwanted interference of Covid 19 destroyed Ireland's programme for 2020 and probably hastened the end of Boyd's representative career.

Rain prevented him having his hoped for farewell appearance for the North West Warriors , but as opponents of Lisburn in the first weeks of this - 2021 - season would be able to testify, the flame still burns.

Edward Liddle, October 2012, updated September 2013, updated Jaunary 2016, updated June 2021