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Ben Calitz has earned a maiden call-up in Ireland's T20I squad in what will be a historic moment for his team, with them hosting England for a T20I series for the first time.
Calitz, 23, has represented Canada at the Under-19 level before being selected for the Ireland Wolves tour to the UAE in April 2025, as per the ICC website. Paul Stirling will lead the 14-member squad, but notable names like Mark Adair, Josh Little, and Fionn Hand, who are still working through rehabilitation programmes, will miss the series due to injury. All three matches are set to be played in Malahide, in what will be a crucial build-up for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka next year. All-rounders Gareth Delany and Curtis Campher, alongside pacer Craig Young, who missed out on playing the series against the West Indies, make a return to the squad. Opening up on the series in the context of next year's T20 World Cup, Ireland National Men's Selector, Andrew White, said, "While every match against England is a special occasion, this series takes on extra importance given we are less than six months out from the next T20 World Cup." "These matches against England offer us an opportunity to test ourselves against one of the world's best teams as we build up to that tournament. As it stands, we are set to play as many T20I matches in the next five months as we have already played in this cycle to date, but we'll transition to Asian and Middle East venues to better prepare the squad for conditions they will likely face on the subcontinent," he added. Furthermore, sharing details regarding the player injuries, White stated, "While it's unfortunate that Mark [Adair], Fionn [Hand] and Josh [Little] are not available, this series will give several other members of the bowling group the chance to step up and challenge for World Cup spots. "While we have excellent cover at the top of the order, it is the middle order batting where we are looking to increase our depth. As part of this focus, we welcome Ben Calitz into the squad, who gives us a left-handed batting option, as well as wicketkeeping cover, and Jordan Neill returns as cover for Mark Adair, as he did in the West Indies ODI series earlier this summer before injury cut his debut short," White concluded. The two sides have only met twice in the shortest format, most recently at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2022, when Ireland got the better of England. Prior to their tour of Ireland, England is set to play a three-match T20I series against South Africa at home, following a win in the final ODI of a three-match series. Ireland squad for England T20Is: Paul Stirling (captain), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Barry McCarthy, Jordan Neil, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young. (ANI)
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